The Resurrection
by foolishangel87
Summary: Allison Stackhouse left Bon Temps in the hopes of life without vampires.But when she arrives in Mystic Falls,she comes across the very things she was running from.Her involvement with the Salvatore brothers,leads her to the discovery of a secret...2nd fic
1. It all begins again

**A/N: This is the sequel to the story The Blackest Night. I would say you have to read the original or else this won't make sense...i know know how much this sequel was anticipated so yes i am back sooner then i planned with the sequel. I just couldn't stay away. My inspiration took over and forced me to write...so here you have the first chapter to the sequel..please review**

**Chapter 1 It all begins again**

"I still can't believe I left." I whispered to myself as I say inside my car in the parking lot of a 2 story hotel and looked up at the building I would be staying in for the night and sighed heavily. This was the one statement I made every night since I had left Bon Temps and even though I had been traveling for days, it still crept up on me that my decision to leave home was still shocking, even though I knew I had every right to get away.

"This is a beginning I am not totally sure I am ready for." I said out loud in the silent car as I sat back and unbuckled my seat belt and looked at the seat next to me where my purse was and smiled when I saw the picture of Sookie and I taped on the door handle. It had been taken weeks before I left but only days before everything came crashing down and seeing us with our arms wrapped around each other not only made me smile, but it also made me sad too. But as much as I wanted to give in to this overwhelming sadness that was starting to build, I couldn't do it in my car where anyone could walk by and see.

So I grabbed my purse and keys in one hand and took the handles of a small traveling duffel in the other and climbed out of the car and slammed the door shut behind me. I walked across the rain soaked pavement to the sliding glass doors and entered the nearly empty lobby where the only other person besides me was an older looking woman, who smiled at me kindly and beckoned me over with a wave of her hand. I forced a smile on my face and hitched the strap of my duffel up on my shoulder as I walked up to the desk. "Hi, I need to check into a room for just one night if that is possible."

"Ah, you're just passing through, I see." The woman, whose name tag read Trudy, said as she turned to the computer mounted in the desk and began typing away. "Good thing you came in when you did. It's getting really dark and there's no telling what is walking around out there. These days you will find a vamp on every corner."

"Oh I know." I replied thoughtfully, pulling my hair over my neck so the puncture scars were covered. I had forgotten to use makeup that morning to hide the old wounds and this woman who reminded me of my grandmother, clearly wasn't the most open to the vampire community. "I figured it was safer to stop now and get out rather then wait another few hours."

"You are in luck. We do have one last room available for you." Trudy said, reaching behind her to a board where she grabbed a hanging card and handed it to me. "Now how would you like to pay for that?"

"Debit." I answered back, handing her my card, grateful that I had as much money saved as I did. Those months I worked for Fangtasia had really paid off. As much of a dick Eric had turned out to be, he still was good enough to pay me really well. When she had swiped my card and I had stuffed it back in my wallet with the receipt, I took the key, seeing that my room was on the first floor and smiled. "Thank you."

"Have a good night." Trudy waved to me as I walked away towards a hallway of rooms that mine was in and began looking at the numbers until my eyes landed on the one I needed.

I slipped my card into the slot , waiting for the light to turn green and when it did I opened the door into the small darkened room and was instantly hit with that hotel room smell of clean sheets and too much air freshener. I flipped the light on and locked the door before I walked over to the little wooden table and set my bags on top of it. I looked around, taking in the bed and nightstand and the dresser with the TV on top and the door that lead to the bathroom, it was nice enough, but it was quiet. Oh so very quiet and I didn't do too well with that much silence. It made me nervous. So I picked up the remote and turned on some random news channel while I started to pull out some clothes to change into for bed. I wanted to get to sleep as soon as I could that way I could wake up at a decent time and get back on the road. I had been driving for days and I was at the end of the trip almost. I had just left North Carolina and tomorrow's all day drive would bring me right into Mystic Falls by late after noon. I was almost there and I was so glad. I was exhausted and tired and sore from being cramped inside my car for days on end. I was not cut out for life on the road and if I ever were to go on a another road trip, I would not chose a place that was so far away from Bon Temps. What was I thinking choosing Mystic Falls as the place I would run away to? It was like a million states away, I should have decided on some place closer. But I didn't. The moment the name of that town had filled my eyes, I just knew it was a place I had to go to. It was just a feeling that I had and I couldn't explain it. It was this heavy hand that had closed around my heart and was pulling me towards that destination. I never felt that before. It was telling me to follow through and go there. I couldn't just ignore it. Something was telling me to go to Mystic Falls and I was going to find out why. Because this couldn't just be coincidence. Could it?

"It's way too late to be thinking this heavy." I said to myself, throwing my traveling clothes over the back of the chair and stepping into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before crawling into bed and focusing my eyes back on the TV. It would keep me distracted long enough for me to fall asleep and then I wouldn't have to be bothered by my thoughts. I just couldn't seem to deal with it right now. But once I was asleep, there was no telling what I would dream. Although I had an idea.

Because since I left, my dreams had been consumed with only one person. A person who was tall, blonde and a vampire. A vampire named Eric Northman.

* * *

_The next morning_

"Have a good trip dear, and drive safe." Trudy called out from behind her desk the next morning as I walked up and handed her my key and signed out. "Take care of yourself."

"Thank you." I couldn't help but grin as she really did remind me of Gran and it was nice to know there were still people in the world who believed in the whole concept of being nice to strangers. It gave me hope in a way and sort of relight the fire in my soul. For that I was going to be grateful for. So I lifted my hand and waved at her as I passed through the glass doors. "Goodbye."

I walked back across the parking lot to where my car was parked at the end of the row and unlocked it so I could toss my duffel in the back seat and climb in behind the wheel. The air in the car was a little warm so I turned the key in the ignition and put down the windows so the light breeze could flow through and catch my hair. It was a nice day, perfect for driving long hours until I was finally able to stop for good. But I had to get on the road in order to get to Mystic Falls before dark. And before I did I would have to give my cousin a call to let her know that I was ok. I hadn't talked to her in 2 days and I knew she would be getting worried right about now so I would briefly talk to her so she wouldn't freak out. I turned down the radio as I reached for my phone and hit the first speed dial button. I had barely put the phone up to my ear and listened to the dialing tone before I heard it pick up and I said. "Hello Sookie."

"Oh my god Allie, its so good to hear your voice. I was wondering when you would call again." She said excitedly, her tone rising up a pitch as she spoke. "How are you? Where are you? Are you still in the country?"

"Yes I'm in the country and I do not have plans to leave it." I laughed, rolling my eyes at her statement. It was so like Sookie to say something like that. For only being a few years older then me, she sometimes had the imagination of someone half her age and she came up with the wildest things. "I am actually in Virginia and I'm heading to this place I saw on a map before I left home. It will take me the rest of the day to get there but I think that's where I plan on staying for a while."

"Are you going to rent an apartment or a hotel room when you get there?"

"Well, if I can get lucky enough to find an apartment to rent for a few months then that's what I'll do." I replied, thinking of all the practical things I would do when I got there. That would be my first priority upon my arrival. "But if I can't find one, then I guess it is living out of a hotel for me."

"Or I can get Bill to wire you some money so you get someone to agree to rent you a place for what ever amount of time you want." She offered without the slightest hesitation and that touched my heart. It truly did.

"That's really generous of you but I think I will be ok. I should do this on my own. Its the whole point of leaving Bon Temps anyway. So I will be contact with my old life on my terms. " I told her, twisting my hand around the steering wheel tightly. I loved my cousin, but I couldn't accept that offer because I didn't want to bring anything from my old life into my new one. I was going to Mystic Falls to start over and it was just something I had to do on my own. "Besides, you guys should be saving every penny for that spectacular wedding of yours."

"You're more important then a wedding." Sookie insisted, using that tone of hers that said she believed what she was saying. "I just want to make sure you are living in a proper place that's safe and secure."

"I appreciate that, but I will be ok. I won't live in a place if I don't know for sure that it is safe." I assured my worried sounding cousin. "But as soon as I get there and get settled in, I will call you and tell you about it. I promise."

"Alright. Take care and make sure you watch out for yourself on the road." Sookie warned and I could picture her waving her hands in the air. "I hear those drivers in Virginia are crazy."

"I've seen crazier then that." I pointed out, hearing her laugh like a little girl. "But I will be careful and I will call when I can."

"OK, talk to you soon." Sookie said, before sighing slightly and hanging up the same time I did. I sat there for a second with my phone in my hand just looking at it and almost being over come with the desire to return home. I had left a part of me there and that was Sookie. She was my cousin, my sister and my best friend. She was like my other half and being apart for what was going to be the biggest chunk of time as going to be hard on both of us. But it had to be done. I needed to do this. And that's why I set my phone in the cup holder and turned the radio on just in time for the beginning of "I'm on my way" by The Proclaimers to come on and it couldn't have been a more perfect song to start driving to as I headed towards Mystic Falls.

_I'm on my way to what I want from this world  
And years from now you'll make it to the next world  
And everything that you receive up yonder  
Is what you gave to me the day I wandered  
I'm on my way _

* * *

_7 hours later_

"So this is Mystic Falls. It looks like something out of the seventies." I laughed as I drove past the welcome sign and finally reached the town I had been driving to for days. It was nothing like I though it would be.

The place was so much different looking then Bon Temps. There was lush green lawns with crispy golden leaves covering them and houses that seemed to be right out of a history book. It wasn't all expensive looking, but it was well kept and immaculate in a way that Bon temps could never be. I loved my hometown, but even I had to admit that it was a little bit of hicksville compared to this place. It had a lot of depth and history. I got that feeling the moment I passed from the main road and drove across the county lines into town. It was a jolt to my system in a few ways. For one thing, the weather was a shock, I actually got chilly when I had driven further north and had to roll up the windows. Bon Temps was in the south and it never got all that cold, so this made me glad I had packed heavier clothes, clothes that I never thought I would need. But the main thing that jolted me wasn't so much the way the town looked or how the weather was different, it was the atmosphere.

The atmosphere was heavy with tension, like there was a cloud hanging over it suggesting that it was just getting over something that had worn it out and it wasn't quite back to normal. There was a feeling in the air that just ripped through me the second I came into this town. It was brief and fleeting and the bulk of it was gone in a minute, but it had been there and it had been intense. It was like a hand had reached into my stomach and dropped a boulder of ice in there, freezing my insides almost instantly before a warmth started spreading out through my veins before it reached my fingertips and I was calm again. It was the strangest thing and it was over before I had driven more then a few yards down the road, but the after effects were still with me. I felt tight and tense like I was preparing myself for something and I didn't know what.

"That was very very odd." I mumbled, making a left turn and driving down a road with tall brick buildings that seemed to be leading to the main part of town. As I was driving and taking in all that was around me, my eyes caught sight of a rather large sign posted on the outside wall of one of the structures. I pulled over to the side to get a closer look and I smiled. Luck was finally on my side.

_Vacant Apartment to rent_

_-All utilities and furniture included_

_-Move in ready_

_-parking included in back_

_Inquiries to be made inside._

"Hmm, is this a sign or what?" I asked, turning off my car and grabbing my purse. I had no idea if I would be able to afford a place that was including parking and furniture, but it was worth a shot. It never hurt to at least look and find out. And if I could get this place then that was good. I didn't really relish the idea of living out of a hotel room for the next few months so I was willing to look at the first place I saw. And that was what I was going to do.

* * *

_Late that afternoon_

"So you understand that the deposit for this place is 300 up front right? And it's 800 every month?" The owner of the building asked me as we sat at the round wooden kitchen table in the unoccupied apartment I was going to rent and I nodded. I had come in to talk to this guy about possibly taking this place and he was nice enough to take me right to the apartment and give me a tour of it. I had fallen in love with it right away. It had 2 bedrooms, two fulls baths, a kitchen/dinning room and a good sized living room. The walls were cream colored and the carpets were dark brown with matching dark furniture. It was nice and airy and it felt right. I could live here and possibly be happy. It was the exact place that I thought I would end up in to find myself again. And that made me so giddy, a feeling I had definitely not felt in the past few weeks. And that was why I turned to the guy with a smile.

"If I can move in tonight, then I will go to the bank and get the deposit for you." I told him, making a mental note to find out where the nearest bank was so that I always knew where it was.

"Well I think that can be arranged." He answered with a smile, pulling out a pen from his briefcase and pushing it over to me along with a small pile of papers. "I just need you to sign these contracts so we can make a file that you are only renting this place for a few months. And then this place is all yours."

"Thank you." I grinned back, uncapping the pen and quickly started filling out the paper work and signing on the dotted lines where it was required. When I was I done, I handed it all back to him and clasped my hands together. "So I guess that's it huh? This place is mine?"

"It sure is. As soon as you come back with the deposit, then I will hand you off the key and that will be that." The man said, holding out his hand for me to shake and I took it, excitement filling me as I listened to his thoughts and heard that he was certain I was going to be a good fit here because I didn't look like a girl that got into a whole lot of trouble. Oh he had no idea. He stuffed his paper work back in his briefcase and stood up. "I hope you are happy in your time here."

"Thank you. I think I will be."

_1 hour later..._

"This worked out pretty well." I said as I stood in the middle of my living room and looked around at the silent apartment that just 30 minutes had become mine. I sat down on the comfy couch and crossed my arms with a sigh. It already felt like home.

Just like I had said to the building owner, I went straight to the bank and took out the cash for the deposit along with some extra so I had cash on me should I decide to go out and explore before I went to sleep. With the money in hand I drove back to the building, stopping only to pick up a set of sheets and a comforter at a department store before meeting with my new landlord and handing him the cash and signing one last paper to show I had indeed paid the deposit, and to provide my information for when I would be paying my bills in the months after. And then once that was done, I was handed the key and allowed to start unpacking my car. It took more then just a few trips since my bags was heavy and it was only me carrying things. But I got it done just as the light in the sky disappeared completely and I looked at my clock to see that it was already half passed 6 and I hadn't eaten since that morning before I left to start the final drive here. It was hitting me now that I had neglected and ignored my growling stomach and it was finally starting to turn on me.

"Look like I have to venture out in this strange town at night and get something to eat."

* * *

_30 minutes later_

"Mmmmm, this is a good night for the picking off of the helpless kind." Damon Salvatore said with a twisted smirk as he stepped through the doorway onto the main floor of The Mystic Grill and was followed close behind by his brooding younger brother and his brother's disgusted looking girlfriend who had no problem making a comment on his observation of the crowd in the restaurant/bar in front of them. "What? You have something to say about my honesty?"

"Your honesty sucks. And therefore, so do you." Elena snapped, rolling her eyes as she wrapped her arm around Stefan who did the same and Damon had nothing to say except to laugh which only seemed to make Elena more disgusted then usual.

"Well I am a vampire. It is my job to do the sucking around here." He stated, shooting a grin at the brunette before focusing his attention back on the people milling about on the floor. His blue eyes scanned the humans, some of them standing out to him for looks only and others just because they looked like they would be easy to take down. He was in the mood for something different tonight though. He was craving something different. And as he turned his head, his vampire sense caught a whiff of a scent that stood out for the others boldly. He stared across the room to the back wall where there was a line of booths and his eyes were drawn to a table that was occupied by a young looking human girl with long brown hair who was sitting there eating alone and reading a book. She looked easy enough to get and he hadn't seen her around here. She must be new. And that appealed to him. He grinned and looked back at Stefan and Elena and waved. "I think I found my entertainment for the night."

"Damon will you please not draw attention to yourself for one night?" Stefan called after him as Damon slipped away between the tables and headed right for that lonely looking girl.

Damon kept his eyes on her as he moved at a human pace. She never looked up and she didn't seem to hear him coming, which made this all the more fun. He saw her set down her book and reach for her glass of water to finish it off and he took that moment to walk the last few steps with vigor before setting his hands on the table top just as her green eyes met his, "You look like you could use another drink. Allow me."

"No thank you. I was just finishing up." She replied, her voice clear as a bell but hinted with an undertone of melancholy as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Why did you come over here in the first place? It's obvious that you do not work here."

"I came in and saw you sitting alone and realized I had never seen you around here before." Damon stated, looking over across the room to see Elena and Stefan sitting at a table watching him and looking worried. Damon just smirked and turned back to this beautiful stranger. "What's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?" She asked, tucking her long hair behind her ears and he was once again hit with the scent of something that was unlike anything he had smelt before. It was coming from her. She didn't smell like any other human in town, but she was human. Of that he was sure. But there was something off about her that he couldn't put his finger on.

"Tell me your name." He said quietly, turning the full force of his gaze on her knowing it would soon produce the effect that he wanted. He had been polite enough, now he would just use his vampire powers to get what he wanted. So he held her focus, drawing up his power and sending it to her eyes before asking. "Why don't you try answering now?"

"Um, if you are trying to glamor me, then you will be trying for a very long time." She said, shocking him when her eyes crackled with amusement and she sat back with her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face. "Glamor doesn't work on me. So please leave me alone."

"Why doesn't it work on you?" He demanded, frowning when he realized that this was the first time he had ever been out trumped by a human. And he did not like it. Not at all. "What are you?"

"Um, I am human, if you couldn't tell." She answered back, moving her head so her hair moved and he caught sigh of her neck along with two marks that made his head snap up.

"No, you aren't just human. I see the fang marks on your skin. You must be something special to be feed on like that." He pointed out, noting that the fang marks, although healed, were clearly wounds that had been feed from many many times. It just further made it obvious that the way her blood smelt meant she wasn't like the other people in this room. He leaned further over the table and looked at her. "Tell me what you are."

"That is none of your business." She snapped, taking her bag and her book before standing up from the table and easing around it. As she stood before him, he looked down at her and smirked. She was around Elena's height with the same long brown hair, but her green eyes were brighter then anything he had seen and the blood he could sense moving through her veins was something that was causing his fangs to almost pop out. She smelt fucking delicious! Probably had the best tasting blood of all the human he had killed or fed upon. He could smell it on her. But what was the reason for that? She shook her head at him and just walked away towards the counter to pay and he watched her go with a frown.

Damon returned to the table his brother and Elena were sitting at and sat down with a huff as the two of them looked on in amusement. "What a bitch?"

"Why is she a bitch? Because she didn't want anything to do with you and you hate getting turned down?" Elena shot back, scratching her head while shooting Stefan a look who returned it with a smirk of his own that infuriated Damon.

"Precisely." Damon answered, looking over to where the brunette was standing in line and studied her. Even from here, her blood was screaming out to him, tormenting him with its delectable scent and it took all he had not to rush over and sink his fangs into her veins. She turned her head and caught his eye, staring at him from the briefest of seconds before turning to face forward again. Damon smirked and pressed his lips together tightly. It was apparent that something supernatural had just arrived in their town in the form of this tiny brunette and he couldn't tell what she was. He looked at Stefan and Elena and nodded to the girl. "Her blood smells so differently then anyone else's She's definitely not human."

"She looks human to me." Elena stated, looking over the girl with her human eyes and shrugged. "What makes you so sure she just doesn't have delicious smelling blood?"

"Because I was unable to glamor her, it doesn't work on her and there is not other reason that can be except that she's not human." Damon sneered, turning to his brother and asking. "You smelt her too right? Do not tell me you can't smell how good that blood smells."

"I did notice it." Stefan agreed, nodding his head while Elena frowned at the two of them. "But if she is not human, then what is she?"

"I don't know. But I am curious to find out." Damon smirked as all three of them turned in their seats to look at her and wonder what it was that she was and what had in fact brought her here to Mystic Falls.


	2. First Contact

**Chapter 2 First Contact**

_The next morning_

"Wow, I am really here." I said out loud to the quiet living room as I sat there on the couch with my half eaten breakfast in front of me on the coffee table while the TV was playing in the background. I had awoken that morning still in disbelief that I was actually there. It seemed crazy to me that the journey was over and I could finally settle down and relax. But of course that wasn't me at all. I had a local newspaper lying open beside me on the couch and I was searching the pages for classified ads so I could hopefully land a job that would allow me to be able to pay my bills. I had enough in the bank to keep me covered for 4-6 months, but I was one of those people who always like to be prepared and double prepared. So my first thought upon waking up was to look for a job, any job would do.

"Hmmm, where to look oh where to look." I sang out loud, flipping through the paper and almost wanting to laugh at myself for the ink stains on my fingers from the marker I had used to cross out other ads. I was just turning the page when my eyes landed on an ad in the upper right corner and I started nodding thoughtfully. "Mystic Grill. That the place I was at last night. The same place where that obnoxious vampire tried to pick me up."

I shook my head at the thought but the truth was that the vampire who had come up to me had been on my mind even long after I had gotten home from eating dinner there. Maybe it was because I wasn't expecting to be bothered by a vampire the first night I was in Mystic Falls. Maybe it was because he was just really annoying and the mind tends to remember people like that. Or it might have been the fact that he was a good looking vampire and as heartbroken as I still was over Eric, even I could see that the vampire from last night was sexy. That dark hair, those blue eyes, that cockiness seeping out of his every pore. He reminded me so much of Eric that it was scary. But there was something different about him, I could just tell. It was a feeling I had gotten when I returned here and it hadn't left me even when I went to bed. I just couldn't explain. But then again I was getting a lot of feelings that I couldn't explain.

"This is ridiculous. I should be focusing on calling about an interview and not about some random vampire." I scolded myself, pushing the dark haired vamp out of my mind and turned back to the open paper. I circled it with the marker and made a point to get up with the paper and pick up the cordless phone mounted on the wall and start dialing the number on the ad. I listened to it ring about 5 times before someone picked up. "Hello."

"Hello. Mystic Grill and Bar, how can I help you?" A man asked as soon as the line had been picked up.

"Hi, I was wondering if the job you were advertising in the paper was still open." I said, hoping it was true because the bar/grill was located just a few blocks away from my new apartment and being able to get a job there would be more then perfect. "I just moved here yesterday and I need to find a job and this was the first number I called."

"Oh the job is definitely still open if you would like to come in for an interview say around 1:15?"

"That would be great. Thank you so much. Good bye." I said, before hanging up the phone and crossing my arms with a satisfied smile. I walked back over to the couch and flipped the newspaper on the floor with my hand and dropped back down into the cushions and ran my hands through my messy bed hair. "Now if only this good luck could carry through to the interview then that would be great."

I wasn't too worried about interviewing since I had been working since I was 16 and knew I had the experience, but a majority of my work experience as an adult had been at Sam's bar and working at someone else's bar would feel a bit like betrayal. But it seemed to be like the perfect fit and I wasn't going to dwell on the past too much. That wouldn't help me at all. So I would just approach this as if it were new and leave the past in the past. It would just make things more complicated then they had to be and I was here in Mystic Falls to start over.

"And start over is what I am going to do."

_

* * *

__A few hours later_

"You know, I think you would be a perfect fit here. You have the waitress experience and you definitely have the bar experience. I don't see why we shouldn't have you come work here. You got the job young lady."

I grinned and ran my hands through my hair as I sat across from the owner of the Mystic Grill, happy and ecstatic that I had nailed the interview I had been so nervous about just an hour ago. After I had gotten off the phone with this guy, I had begun pacing around the living room, suddenly terrified of the idea of having to converse with a stranger for a job position. I had forgotten how nerve-wracking it could be to ask about a job. Before I was 18, I had just worked around the neighborhood for our friends and neighbors and then when I legally became an adult, I had started working with Sam up until the point I had gone to Eric for job. So even that wasn't as hard as this situation. At least with Eric and Sam I had known them, so it was easier to put myself out there and be more outspoken then I actually was. But here in Mystic Falls, I knew no one and that already had begun to stomp on my self confidence. So I went in there, not in the best frame of mind and I guess the guy was nervous and desperate because he asked a lot of questions very quickly and had me fill out an application that barely took a few minutes to complete before he offered me the job.

"Thank you so much. I really needed this." I exclaimed, shaking his hand vigorously. "When can I start?"

"I know you just moved here, so how about we start you tomorrow night. It will give you at least some time to get settled in before starting a new job"

"How about tonight?" I asked quickly, taking him by surprise as he sat back with a raised eyebrow as I shrugged, knowing I sounded over the top. "I just like to keep busy and if I am sitting around my apartment then I will get extremely bored. So if it is possible, I would like to start right away."

"Then tonight it is." The owner agreed, looking happy. "Lucky for me that you want to start so soon because we needed to fill that position right away."

"I think I am getting more of the benefit but thanks. I will be here around 7 to get started." I said, standing up to shake his hand again before turning to head outside. I would have to return to the apartment and to shower and to put on more appropriate clothing to wear for work in a bar. I had just thrown on a pencil skirt and blouse and washed my face with my hair pulled back into a ponytail to wear for the interview. I was in need of a good scrubbing and I needed to pull out clothes that would allow me to move freely out on the floor and behind the bar counter. It was going to put me back into a work environment that I knew well. But it was also so different at the same time.

"This is a new beginning for me..."

* * *

_Later that night_

"Well well well. Look at what we have here." Damon smirked as he entered through the doorway of the Mystic Grill much like he had the night before, only this time he wasn't accompanied by Stefan or Elena. He walked in here alone, determined that this night was going to end differently then last night had. And when his eyes scanned the entire floor searching for his treat for the night, he found her. Or rather, he caught her scent before his eyes found her standing behind the bar wiping it down while she slid a glass of beer over to a customer and continued moving without even looking up at the rest of the floor. Damon smirked as the wheels in his head started to turn. "Hmmm, perhaps I will get my second chance after all."

He strolled through the crowd of people on his bee line over and most of the patrons jumped out of the way, still skittish around vampires even though it had been years since they revealed themselves to the public. Damon took no notice of this as he had eyes only for the one human who had snubbed him and thrown it back in his face just 24 hours ago. She never glanced his way as he approached the counter and slid into an empty stool to set his leather jacket covered arms on the top and waved his hand. "Oh miss. How about a True Blood down this way?"

"Oh god, you again?" The brunette scoffed, the moment her eyes landed on him and she instantly threw her hands up in the air. "What do you want now?"

"You're not too good at your job if you don't listen to your customer's order." He shot back as she came to stand in front of him with her hands clasped to her hips and he took in the sight of her. Her long brown hair was flowing loose down her back and the shine in it caught the light from the overhead light. She was dressed simply in dark rinse jeans and a sky blue t shirt, but something about the way she looked made something stir inside of him, but not as much as when his eyes caught sight of the name tag pinned to her top. "So you're name is Allison huh?"

"Yes it is. So now you can cross that off your list and never bother me again." She retorted, reaching underneath the counter and pulling out a dark red bottle and setting it down in front of him. "Please stop showing up and trying to talk to me."

"You're supposed to heat this up, you know." Damon said sarcastically, watching her bite down on her bottom lip and sigh heavily, which only made this all the more fun. He was annoying her and that was excellent. It would make his pursuit of her that much more fun. "Now how about you tell me what you are while you pop this bad boy in the microwave?"

"How about you just suck it up and drink it the way I gave it to you?" She smirked, rolling her eyes and walking away before calling over her shoulder. "And what I am is of no interest to you. And it's not your business."

"Oh trust me, I am very interested." Damon frowned her way but she did not return a glance nor did she ever speak to him again that night except when she had him pay for his drink.

Most of the time he just watched her, taking in the way she moved and studying her in an attempt to understand the air of mystery about her. She was different and something beyond being human even though she appeared just like the rest of them. But she was not like the rest of them. Of that he was certain, because if she was, then he would have had her under his power last night. But he didn't, she had been immune to his vampire powers and that alone was unheard of. The way her blood smelt also made a flag rise up in his mind. It was a scent he had never come across before and neither had Stefan. Human blood was as different as the human itself, but mostly they went unnoticed to vampires unless it was moving fast through their veins. But her blood, practically screamed any time she was in a room with him. No human's blood had ever been that fragrant to him and he wanted to know why.

"You're still here." Her voice broke through his thoughts and he focused his attention on her face as she once more looked annoyed at him. "Are you like some weird stalker vampire?"

"Nope, just a curious one." He sent back, his answer making her frown and step back from the counter with a tense expression in her eyes that he found extremely amusing. "Oh what, scared of an interested vampire?"

"Frankly, yes I am. But I decided to ignore you. And I will do that." She stated, nodding her head and stomping away from him while he simply watched her go and crossed his arms.

"Oh this is going to be good."

_

* * *

_

_1 hour later_

"Can I get you anything?" A sweet voice asked Stefan as he sat at the bar later that night and watched his brother as he attempted to grab the attention of a table full of woman who had gathered around him as he talk. Stefan just rolled his eyes and turned to face the owner of the voice and was surprised when it turned out to be the girl who Damon had set his sights on just last night. He had been so distracted by his brother's antics that he hadn't caught the strong scent of her blood when she came back in to the room and stood before him. She watched him curiously as he looked at her before asking. "Are you alright?"

"Sorry it just hit me that I saw you here last night talking to my brother and now you work here." Stefan pointed out, stumbling over his words as he breathed in the smell of her blood. He would have to control himself even better then usual. He already was tense about normal human blood, but hers was just like drugs to an addict, he so badly just wanted one taste. And Damon did too, making his interest in this stranger clear. Stefan watched the girl named Allison as she glanced around him to where Damon was sitting and frowned.

"Wait. The one with dark hair who keeps on bothering me? That asshole is your brother?" She asked, looking between rapidly to make sure. "You're both vampires."

"Yes, we were turned at the same time over 145 years ago, but he was older then me when we were human." Stefan explained, taking in the curious look on her face. "His name is Damon."

"Oh well it is nice to have a name to go along with that charming attitude of his. Now I won't forget who he is." She replied, pressing her lips together before holding out her hand to him. "My name is Allison Stackhouse and no offense, but your brother is a dick."

"My name is Stefan Salvatore and yes my brother is a dick, most of the time." Stefan answered with a look that made the tension leave her face and she came closer to the counter while he leaned in slightly. "I should apologize for Damon's behavior. He doesn't always know how to present himself to the newcomers in town."

"Yes well, I think he is under the impression that he can get something out of me when he can't" Allison told him, looking passed him to keep her eye on Damon before she sent him a look. "So don't you try it either."

"No need to be worried, I am nothing like him." Stefan assured her as she scoffed and laughed.

"They all say that." She spoke thoughtfully, a far away look in her green eyes before she came to and focused again. "But as long as we can be nice to each other, then I don't see any reason why we can't interact."

"I shall pass that along to Damon." Stefan replied just as a new voice joined the conversation and they both turned to see an approaching figure.

"Don't pass anything along to Damon, he's being a dick." Elena snapped, sliding into the seat next to him and folding her arms on the counter.

"You two will get along great since you both just called my brother dick within the last 3 minutes." Stefan laughed, leaning over to kiss his girlfriend on the lips before motioning between the two women. "Elena, this is Allison, she was the one Damon was talking to last night. Allison, this is Elena my girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you." Allison said, reaching out her hand and Elena took it with a smile.

"Like wise." Elena said with a bright smile as they shook their hands. "And I will continue to think you are awesome if you keep thinking Damon is a big tool bag."

"I like you already." Allison laughed to herself and the three of them smiled. "Maybe there are nice people in Mystic Falls after all. Your brother kind of ruined that first impression for me."

"That's Damon for you." Stefan mumbled, looking over his shoulder to where his brother was still holding court with a table full of women who hung on to every word he said. He was probably glamoring them all. Stefan turned forward again. "Make no mistake, he is an ass most of the time. But he has his moments."

"He's an arrogant, full of himself vampire. I doubt that he has moments." Allison stated with a pointed glare at the vampire across the room. "It was nice meeting you both but I have to get back to work. See you around."

"See ya." Elena said, waving as the brunette walked down to a door behind the bar and disappeared through it leaving Elena to look at Stefan with a shrug. "She seems nice."

"Why? Because she already can't stand my brother?" Stefan questioned, a hint of amusement threatening to come out as he took Elena's hand in his.

"That's an added bonus, but she is just nice. I like her." Elena grinned, tightening her grip on his fingers, causing him to smile. "But were you able to figure out what she is?"

"Nope, but I got a big whiff of her blood and Damon was right..."

"Oh I hate admitting when he is right." Elena groaned, slapping her forehead with her free hand while she looked at him. "And you were saying..."

"Her blood smells too strongly for her to be human. She is supernatural, I just don't know how much." Stefan pondered this for a moment as Elena looked concerned.

"Do you think she is dangerous?" Elena wanted to know, fear already creeping into her face.

"I did not get one sense that she was dangerous, or dark and anything evil so no. She's not dangerous." Stefan assured her by pulling her off the stool and into his arms. "Don't worry. Allison is not one of the bad things that pass through here."

"But you're still curious about her aren't you?" Elena asked, pulling back to look at him and he had no choice but to nod.

"My curiosity has been ignited and now I also want to know what she is."

* * *

_4 more hours later_

_Hey Sookie, it's your favorite traveling cousin! _

_I just wanted to send you an email since it was too late to call. I just got out of work and I am tired as heck so this will be short and to the point.. And yes you read that right. I said job. I'm working at bar/grill a few blocks away from the apartment I am renting. So I have the basics taken care of. So don't worry about that since I know it was one of your concerns. For the most part I am settled in enough and distracted enough where I can make it through the day and night without crying about what happened a few weeks back. _

_So yea...i will call you in a day or two. _

_Love you and miss you_

_~Allison_

"And now I am ready to go pass out and die." I said, hitting send and watching as my email got sent away into cyberspace before I closed my laptop on the desk and turned out the light and went into the bed room to get ready for bed. And as I did, I reflected on the night and my first shift at my new job.

It wasn't all that different then what I was used to when I was working for Sam, it was just the people were different. Or should I say the vampires were different. In Sam's bar, the only vampires that came in where Bill and Jessica and in the briefly Eric did too. But these vampires seemed to have a way of finding me out, especially those Salvatore brothers. Now Stefan seemed nice enough, he had been polite when he was at the bar, even taking it upon himself to apologize for his brother's mannerisms and had been very much a gentleman. And his girlfriend Elena was sweet and funny when we met and I could tell by reading her mind that she thought we were going to end up being friends. I thought the same thing too because she just gave off a warm and friendly vibe. Now Damon was another story. He was cocky and annoying and unrelenting. The minute he had stepped foot in the Grill last night, he had his eyes zeroed in on me. He had decided I was interesting enough to come back and bother me tonight. But I didn't feel like interpreting Damon's behavior right now. I was way too tired.

I stumbled into the bedroom and over to the dresser to grab a pair of pajamas while I kicked off my work clothes and left them in a pile on the floor. I got dressed for bed and then jumped under the blankets, turning the light off as I went, bathing the room in darkness. I settled against the pillows and pulled my long hair over my shoulder like I always did when I was trying to sleep. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to over take me. It took a while but eventually I felt the heaviness starting to creep down from my eyes and I grinned and cuddled down in the bed, glad that I was finally able to get some rest.

But my luck ran out for the day because one moment it was silent in my apartment and the next I could hear a noise starting to sound and as it became clearer I realized it was a disembodied voice speaking and it made me shoot up in bed as the words came to me perfectly.

"I'm here. I'm still here."


	3. What are you?

**Chapter 3 What are you?**

_I'm here. I'm still here._

"What the hell was with that voice last night?" I asked myself as I sat alone at a small wooden table inside the cafe I had come across on my walk that morning and clutched a paper cup full of coffee while I tried to decipher what I had heard just a few hours ago.

My nerves were still quivering from that voice coming out of the darkness from what seemed like no where in particular. It had scared me so much that I slept with all my lights on for what was the first time since I was a child but I didn't care. I was scared beyond belief because that was the first time something like that had ever happened to me. Normally when I read people's thoughts by accident, there was always some sort of sign, like a crackle or a pop, that said I was about to be in someone's mind. But not only was there no warning, but I wasn't quite sure that it was even someone's thoughts that I had heard and that was why I was so jumpy this morning. Usually at night and especially late at night, most people's minds were at rest, so no stray thoughts ever floated in by accident. So when I heard it just erupt in my head, I wanted to scream but I managed not to. It then occurred to me after I had calmed down that the voice, although distant and far away, sounded vaguely familiar. Like I had heard this person speaking to me in the past but the voice was no distorted so I couldn't pin point who it was. But I did have a feeling that I was meant to hear it. Just like there had to be a reason why I felt like I was supposed to be in this town. Something was going on and there was something out there in Mystic Falls that was trying to contact me.

"Allison?" An unsure voice asked from across the room and I turned my head and focused my eyes on the approaching figure and saw that it was Elena Gilbert, the girl who was dating Stefan who I had met at the bar last night. She waved to me as she walked over with her own cup of coffee in her hand and sat down across from me and dropped her bag on the floor at her feet. "I thought I recognized you, but I couldn't be sure. What are you doing up so early?"

"Oh...i just...couldn't sleep." I lied, not wanting to go into the whole thing about hearing a weird voice when I just met this girl the night before. I had felt an instant kinship with her that made me think we would end up being friends. But that didn't mean I was going to cop up to hearing voices that even I found strange, even though I was a mind reader. "I haven't slept all that well in the past few weeks."

"That's too bad, I know what that is like." Elena nodded, taking a sip of her coffee before running her hand through her hair and looking at me. "So what brings you here to Mystic Falls?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, biting on my lip and raising my eyebrow at her question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, there has to be a reason you came here." Elena stated, shrugging her shoulders at me. "Not many people who aren't related to the founding families, ever pass through and settle here unless there is a reason. And I just have a feeling that you aren't related to anyone in this town. So I was just curious."

"Oh, I was getting out of a situation back home that made me desperate to leave and go somewhere else. And I just picked this place randomly off a map." I explained, lying again because that wasn't the total truth. My decision to come here hadn't just been random, I felt a pull to this place. I was meant to come here, but I had yet to figure out why. So I just faked a smile and said. "That's all there is to it."

"Ok, just wondering. It made me interested in why you're here because of how intensely Damon has been talking about it." Elena told me, her brown eyes searching my green ones as if she were trying to figure me out. "He seems to think you are something to worry about it. But you're not. Are you?"

"Uh no." I answered back, laughing at the idea of me of all people being something to fear. "If anyone should be worried about someone it should be me. Damon really seems to be interested in me and I don't think it is for a good reason. In my experience, when a vampire expresses interest, most of the time it is not good."

"You've been involved with vampires back home?" Elena asked, her eyes lighting up with curiosity. "What were they like?"

"The usual, mean and violent, arrogant and self centered." I recounted the characteristics of most vampires before I smiled and said. "But actually that's not true for all of them. My cousin got engaged to a vampire and he is wonderful."

"Really? That's fascinating. I didn't know people would actually want to marry vampires." Elena said, drinking a large gulp of her coffee. "But I guess that's because it hadn't been legal until recently."

"She's very excited, she loves him and he treats her so well." I stated, smiling warmly as I thought about Bill. He really was the best kind of vampire, able to blend his human side and his vampire side seamlessly. "I think it's because of his age and how old fashioned he is."

"When was he turned?" Elena wanted to know.

"Sometime around the Civil War I think." I scratched my head to remember the date exactly but it didn't come to mind.

"That's about the same time as when Stefan and Damon were turned." She exclaimed, shaking her head with a smile. "Interesting. I can't imagine meeting a vampire any older then them."

" I have met vampires much much older." I said without thinking, flinching when the vampire's face in question flashed through my head. I didn't realize how much his face would pain me and I drew in a hiss of a breath at that moment.

"Are you ok." Elena asked, sounding concerned as I felt her eyes on me.

"I'm fine. Just bad memories." I forced Eric's face from my mind and made myself calm down so I could actually breathe normally. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure? You just looked so sad all a sudden." Elena commented, pressing her lips together sympathetically. She leaned in close like she was sharing a secret and asked. "Is that why you came here? To get away from something bad?"

"You know, I would really like to not talk about it." I told her, clutching my coffee cup with both hands. "It's just not pleasant for me."

"I understand. I won't force you to tell me anything you don't want to, but..." Elena trailed off, looking down awkwardly at her lap. "You just look like you could use a friend. And I know we just met, but I figure we could be friends. It would give you someone that you know around here."

"Thanks, I might take you up on that." I felt the urge to smile and so I did. It wasn't my usual smile but it was the best I could manage. "I would stay longer, but I have to get back to my apartment and do some unpacking and organizing before I have to go to work."

"I have to get school anyway or else it will be the millionth time I am late this year." Elena laughed, standing up and pulling the strap of her bag over her shoulder and grabbing her coffee. "So I guess we will cross paths again soon."

"Definitely." I nodded, reaching down to take my purse and then stood up. "See you around Elena."

"Same to you Allison."

* * *

_At school_

"Elena, what is up with that face?" Bonnie asked, sliding onto the bench across from her as Elena looked up with a frown. "You've been looking that way all morning."

"I'm sorry, I can't help it. My mind is just not here." Elena sighed, slamming shut her history book as she sat back and stretched her arms. She had come out here to the picnic tables in the hopes that she would be able to distract her mind from it's over run of thoughts by studying, but there had been no such luck. Her brain just kept on going back to her conversation earlier that morning with Allison and she was trying to see if there was anything there that would tell her anything about what Allison could be. She tucked her hair behind her ears and leaned across the table to say. "Do you remember me telling you what Damon said about that new girl who moved here? I had coffee with Allison this morning and I was trying to find out something that would confirm his suspicions and I came up with nothing."

"Well she is not going to just tell you outright what she is, that is if she is anything." Bonnie replied, clasping her hands together on the top of the picnic table. "From what you told me about her, she doesn't seem all that much of a concern to me."

"Stefan didn't think so but then he talked to her and smelt her blood and his mind changed." Elena explained, thinking back to how Stefan had looked after the brunette and she knew something was going on. "Neither of them think she is just human and I don't think so either."

"Well, the blood thing aside, why do you think she isn't human?" Bonnie asked, raising her thin eyebrow.

"Think about it , unless you are related somehow to the history of our town or a distant relative, then why else would anyone settle here?" Elena pointed out, relaying what she had said to Allison back to Bonnie. "I just know she isn't a member of one of the founding families or any family around here. So why is she here?"

"That doesn't mean she is something bad." Bonnie said with a frown. "You might just be overreacting."

"And you think Stefan and Damon are over reacting too?" She shot back, sighing heavily and then leaned in closer. "They smelt her blood and they said it was the strongest they have ever come in contact with. You can't tell me it is a coincidence that someone with blood that strong just happened to come to Mystic Falls and is just a normal human. It's not possible. There is something supernatural about her. And who knows if she is something to be feared or not."

"Ok, maybe you have a point. Maybe it is something to look in to." Bonnie agreed, running both hands through her dark hair before through her arms in the air. "If you honestly think that this newcomer is something that we need to watch out for then I will see what I can do about it."

"How are you supposed to find out if they can't?" Elena wondered, watching her best friend with a wary eye. Bonnie, although more timid then most of the people they went to school with, could put herself out there when it really counted. Today was the day that Elena needed her friend to pull that out. But still, she was unsure of how that would happen. "Seriously, what makes you think you know how to figure this out?"

"Hello! I'm a witch. I have my ways."

_

* * *

__Later that night_

"Come on Damon, why must you drag me out again?" Stefan groaned as he and his brother strolled down the sidewalk just as the sky was finishing turning into it's night-time shade of black and he looked at him with a frown on his face. "Why did you insist that I come out with you?"

"Because what fun would you have sitting alone at the house all night when you could be out on the town with me?" Damon smirked, shoving him to the side with his elbow as they walked. "It's time to stop hiding and join the night life little brother."

Stefan stopped himself from reaching out and hitting his older brother in the face. He hated it when Damon went on a tirade like he had been for the past few hours. Always pointing out what he did wrong or how his behavior was boring and he was wasting his vampire life acting like he was still human. Stefan just wished he could shut his brother up but that never happened. Damon was Damon. And he was going to do whatever he wanted to do no matter what anyone said. At least until Damon met his match in someone. Stefan had thought it had been with Katherine, but she had messed the two of them up so badly that even with her gone, their relationship still had its rocky moments because of her. Damon needed someone to challenge him but to also remind him that there was still humanity locked up somewhere inside of him just waiting to come back out. Someone that would teach Damon how to get what he wanted through his good deeds, rather then his bad. But that hadn't happened yet.

"Maybe I like sitting at home by myself without you around to annoy me." Stefan hissed, narrowing his eyes when Damon appeared to brush off his comment and focus his blue eyes on something off in the distance. "What are you staring at now?"

"Oh just something that has been occupying my precious mental time." Damon replied, pointing across the street to a brick building before saying. "And guess who just went in there?"

"For god sakes, Damon do you always have to obsess over something?" Stefan rolled his eyes as he looked where his brother was pointing and saw Allison Stackhouse enter what looked like an apartment building in a hurry while Damon watched her with a devious look on his face. "You do realized you are obsessed right?"

"I'm not obsessed, just intrigued." Damon corrected, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "And now I know where she is staying. And that will make it so much easier."

"Will make what... so much easier?" Stefan asked, feeling concerned as he looked at his brother's face. Whenever Damon had that look, it usually didn't mean good things. Nothing positive ever came out of Damon's interests and Stefan doubted that this time would be any different. "Why are you so interested in her? What exactly are you expecting to gain from finding out what she is?"

"Why wouldn't I be interested in her?" Damon's smirk got even tighter as he appeared to be eying the door to the building and considering something. "She's hot and mysterious. So why not?"

"Oh man, this is not going to turn out well for anyone."

* * *

_At the Mystic Grill_

"Oh dear god. Not you again."

Damon grinned as he crossed the floor of the partially filled Mystic Grill and headed over to the bar like a man on a mission. And he was on a mission. Ever since he and Stefan had seen Allison go into the apartment building where she lived, he hadn't been able to erase her from his mind. Not that he had been able to do it before, but her presence in his head was even more rooted and he had to try again to figure her out. She was like a puzzle to him and he was determined to crack her. She intrigued him so much that he had stopped bothering Stefan and abandoned his brother out in the streets an hour ago just so he could come back into the bar to talk to her. And now that he was here, he was ready to get some answers.

"Aw, what's the matter sweetheart? Not thrilled to see me?" Damon smirked as he slid into a chair right in front of the bar counter where she was standing behind and propped his elbows up on the shiny wood and grinned as he looked up and down her body and smirked. "But I am thrilled to see you. You look just yummy."

"You're disgusting." Allison shot back, her eyes flashing full of anger as she crossed her arms over herself and glared at him. "What do you want?"

"I want what I've been wanting since you arrived." He stated, leaning forward so his face was closer to hers and he could practically see the vein in her throat pulsating in front of his eyes. He grinned even more when, with his vampire hearing, he heard her heart speed up. "What are you?"

"That is none of your business." She snapped, her hands going to her hips in fury. "So give it up and go bother someone else. I'm sure you will find someone who will enjoy it."

"You are so feisty. And I like that, a lot." Damon shot back watching her look around for any possible distraction but there was none. So with a raise of his eyebrows, he moved closer and reached out to touch her arm, feeling the warmth and smoothness of her skin. "Why don't you just save us both the trouble and tell me what are you?"

"I said no." Allison hissed, yanking her arm away from him and stepping back. "And besides, looking at you, I highly doubt trouble will cease once you know what I am."

"What are you saying? That I look like I cause trouble?" Damon asked, a look of mock surprise on his face as he waited to see her reaction. "Do you know that hurt my feelings?"

"Um, I highly doubt that you have feelings." She said, shaking her head so much that her long hair fell over one shoulder and exposed her slim neck to the point where he could make out the fang mark on her skin.

"Where did you get those?" He wanted to know, reaching out again and tugged her forward. He had seen them the first night he met her but he was more intrigued by them now that he knew her blood was something special. Oh to be the lucky vampire who had gotten to feed on her. That was one lucky bastard.

"Is it in your nature to constantly be bugging me all the time?" She asked, twisting her arm until he released her. "I mean, every time you are around, you have to grab at me."

"Afraid that you might like it?" He chuckled, watching her mouth drop open and he had to grin. He liked pissing her off. It was fun for him and he would do it again and again. That was just how he operated and he was about to stop any time soon.

"No, I think you might like more then I ever could." Allison snapped, pulling her hair back over her shoulders so her neck was partially covered again. "Now back off and leave me alone."

"We'll see if that ever happens..."

* * *

_Elena's house_

"Bonnie what's the matter?" Elena asked, frowning as she turned in her chair where she had been sitting at her desk doing her homework just as her best friend walked in with a deep set frown on her face. It was the type of look Bonnie wore when something hadn't gone right and she was about to say something about it. Elena got up and went over to the bed where Bonnie had taken a seat and looked at her hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"

"Something is wrong, but it's not really serious. But it has made me a little bit on edge." Bonnie replied, dropping her bag on the floor and crossing her legs underneath her as she sat in the middle of the bed. "You think I'm a fairly competent witch, right?"

"You're better then competent. You're amazing and powerful." Elena retorted, her voice not uncertain in the least as she looked at her best friend. "What is this about? What do your abilities have to do with what's wrong?"

"The spell failed." Bonnie blurted out, looking ashamed as she peeked through her dark hair at Elena. "Remember when I told you that I was going to find out what Allison was and that I had my ways?"

"Yea." Elena nodded, remembering the conversation from earlier that day. "So what went wrong?"

"That's just it, nothing did go wrong. I did the Revealing Spell perfectly just like the book said." Bonnie twisted her hands around her as she spoke. "And when it is done right, it is supposed to reveal the magic components of the person you are casting the spell upon. But it didn't work on her."

"So what happened? Why did it fail?"

"When a spell like that is cast, it is very hard to hoodwink it and keep it from doing what it was meant to do, which is reveal a person's true identity. But when I did it, nothing came to me. It was like there was a barrier between the spell and Allison that was keeping me from finding out. Or that whatever she is, is so old and powerful that the spell couldn't accommodate it's power."

"So what you're saying is that she is supernatural but you don't know just how much." Elena bit her lip and frowned deeply, so thoroughly confused now. "So what does that mean? Is it impossible to find out what she is? Is there no other way?"

"I don't know for sure, I'll keep looking, but right now, we are still in the dark."


	4. Reactions

**Chapter 4 Reactions**

_2 Nights Later_

"Just when I thought things were finally starting to calm down, they have to show up. Together." I groaned out loud to myself as I looked across the crowded floor of the grill and my eyes landed on the small group of people that had just arrived and were now searching for a place to sit. There were four of them and I knew all of them except for one. Damon, Stefan and Elena were joined by another girl with dark wavy hair that I hadn't seen around here. But by the way Elena and her laughed and talked together, it was obvious that they were friends. And although I was glad to see Elena and Stefan, I almost wished they hadn't come in because they had brought Damon with them. And when he was around, that meant I was going to be getting very annoyed very quickly. "Why does he always have to show up?"

I saw Damon turn his head in my direction and smirk when his eyes landed on me. He must have heard me speak and it looked like my disgust at seeing him again for the millionth time had pleased him. I rolled my eyes at this as I tightened the knot on my apron and reached for a notepad so I could go over and take their orders, well more like just Elena and her friend's orders. That was so like a vampire to take pleasure in the weirdest things, especially a vampire like Damon. But as much as I didn't want to interact with him, he was sitting at a table with 3 other people and they were customers and I had a job to do. So I forced myself to put on a pleasant smile and move my feet so I would walk to the table and get this over with. I was approaching the group and had Damon's eyes on me all the time but I chose to ignore it as I stood by Stefan's shoulder and waved. "Hey, nice to see you guys again."

"Well of course it is nice to see me." Damon commented, earning eye rolls from everyone at the table including me but it didn't seem to faze him in the slightest as he just grinned and sat back with his hands behind his head. "It's always nice to see me."

"Oh shut up Damon." Elena responded, shaking her head with such a deep look of annoyance on her face that I couldn't help but to smile before she turned to me. "Allie, I haven't seen you too much since that morning we met up at the coffee shop."

"I've been working as much as I can. I like to be kept busy." I told her, running my hands through my hair that I had left loose for the night.

"There are other things you can do to stay busy." Damon said, turning his attention back on me and his full lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Things that I would gladly love to do with you."

"Eww." I frowned, making a face at him that he just shrugged off. "You're disgusting."

"And inappropriate." Stefan piped in, looking at his older brother with disdain in his dark eyes. "Can you please control yourself with the comments for just one night?"

"Where would the fun be in that?" Damon wanted to know, pulling off his leather jacket and tossing it over the back of an empty chair next to him. The simple act of this stirred something deep inside of me, that I thought wouldn't have affected me but it did. It brought "his" face to mind again and the way he had always thrown his leather jacket over my furniture before he would swoop in and kiss me. It made me feel hollow inside but I tried to push that away as I looked around at the table.

"Oh Allie, I wanted to introduce you to my best friend." Elena chimed in, turning to the dark haired girl beside her and grinned expectantly. "This is Bonnie, she and I have been friends forever and I thought it would be good for you guys to meet."

"It's nice to meet you in person. Elena talks about you constantly." Bonnie stated, holding out her hand for me to shake while she smiled at me sweetly. "That's why I came with them tonight."

"It's good to meet..." I started to say as my hand took hers in a handshake, but my voice trailed off the moment our hands connected because it was like having a door blow open suddenly in front of you and I could feel her thoughts speaking inside my head. And the moment that portal was open, I was finding out things about her that I shouldn't have found out on a first impression. Things that I didn't want to know.

_So this is Allison Stackhouse. I was expecting her to look weird or supernatural or at least show some kind of sign that she could possibly be a danger to us all. But she looks normal. Sweet even._

_I wonder what she is. Damon and Stefan still don't know and now meeting her, I don't have an idea either. _

_I thought coming here to see her would give me an indication on why the spell didn't work on her but there is nothing. It's like she is just like the other humans in this room. But she's not human._

_Damn it. I am a witch. I should be able to figure this out._

I pulled my hand back suddenly, yanking it away so fast that I almost hit Stefan in the face but I couldn't be bothered about apologizing as I stared at Bonnie with my mouth hanging open. She was a witch? A witch was sitting here in the same room I was in and right in front of me. It made something heavy drop down into the bottom of my stomach and my heart felt like it had tripped over itself and was trying to catch up to the fear that was quickly spreading through out my body. I watched Bonnie, who was looking back at me with a confused look on her face. But I wasn't fooled. She was a witch and I wasn't about to soon forget my own experiences from the past about my encounters with a witch hybrid. And I could briefly remember the pain and agony from the attack in the woods all those months ago and it made my heart pound wildly inside my chest as if it were trying to get out. I saw both Stefan and Damon snap their heads my way, obviously picking up on the heightened heartbeat coming from me as I stepped backwards, desperate to move away and take off.

"Allie? Are you ok?" Elena asked, the first one to say something after seeing my reaction. Elena looked like she was about to stand up and come towards me but she sat back down when I shook my head for her not to. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I have to go." I stated and then quickly turned on my heels and fled to the back room of the grill, leaving the four of them to stare after me in shock.

* * *

_30 minutes later_

"What the hell was that about?" Bonnie asked, half an hour later as the four of them watched Allison move behind the bar and they tried to figure out the reason behind her strange reaction. She hadn't returned to their table and had instead chosen to work at the bar counter across the room from them,but that didn't mean the didn't still keep an eye on her. Bonnie was confused about how Allison had acted towards her and had questioned it for the past 30 minutes. "I mean, did you see the way she looked at me? It was like she was looking at me like I was evil or something."

"I did notice that." Stefan agreed, nodding his head as he studied the girl and frowned. "You didn't do anything when you guys shook hands did you. I mean, you didn't try to perform a spell or nothing, did you?"

"Not at all. I was just simply sitting there acting like nothing was going on." Bonnie explained, crossing her arms in confusion. "But she looked like I shocked her or something."

"It's really weird." Elena commented, tapping her chin with her fingertips as she looked at her best friend and her new friend and then stood up. "I'm going to find out what's going on."

"You really think you are going to find out just by asking her?" Damon questioned, his voice full of doubt. "Good luck with that."

"Damon, go suck yourself off since you know no one else will do it for you." Elena snapped, walking away from the table while she felt Damon's glaring eyes at her back and she knew she would pay for it later, but she wasn't worried. She could stand her ground when it came to Damon Salvatore. She always had and this time would be no different.

Elena kept her eyes on the older girl as she weaved her way through the tables on the dining floor and headed over to the bar with a determined look on her face. She was going to find out what was going on. And not just because it looked like something odd was in the air. But also because Allison was her friend and the girl had been wearing an anxious expression since she had come back out into the room and Elena was worried. It was just her nature to worry about the people around her. So that was why she jumped into a stool at the bar and waved her hand until it caught Allison's attention. "Allie, come over here. I want to ask you something."

"I can't really talk right now Elena, I'm working."Allison said, walking over slowly clutching a bar rag in her hand while her other hand reached up and twisted her long hair between her fingers. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were ok." Elena replied, clasping her hands together on the counter as she looked at the girl who fidgeted in front of her. "You just ran off after meeting Bonnie and I was just worried that something was wrong."

"No, nothing wrong. Nothing at all." Allie said back, pressing her lips together tightly so they formed an thin line that said she was anything but ok. "Is that it?"

"No that's not it." Elena exclaimed, her mouth dropping open in surprise. "What is with the brush off?"

"I told you it is nothing." Allison retorted, glancing over Elena's shoulder to the table where the rest of them were watching the exchange and sighed. "You can also tell them that nothing is up since they are watching us like hawks."

"Oh just ignore them." Elena waved off her comment and focused her eyes on the girl who had her eyes darting around nervously as if she were expecting something to come up and attack her. "Allie, you can tell me what's wrong. I'm your friend and you know you can talk to me."

"Yea, but can I trust you." The brunette wanted to know, dropping her hands down to her side with a shrug. "We only met a few days ago."

"That doesn't mean you can't talk to me." Elena protested, wondering what the hell this was all about. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." Allison insisted, breathing heavily through her nose as she looked at the table in the distance. "Excuse me."

Elena watched her leave the area and disappear into the back room without even looking back at anyone again. She frowned, wanting to know what was wrong with her new friend. This wasn't how the night was supposed to go. She had wanted to introduce Allison to Bonnie so the newcomer would know more people. But Allie was reacting like she had been introduced to something evil and that was so not the case. Bonnie was not evil in any sense of the word, and that was saying a lot considering most witches were like that. But Allison didn't know Bonnie was witch. So why did she behave as if she were scared?

_

* * *

__A few hours later_

"You have got to be kidding me. You have seriously got to be fucking kidding me!"

Damon grinned as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and stared down the hallway at the furious looking brunette who was coming towards him like she wanted to drive a stake through his chest. It was kind of hot if he were honest with himself, seeing that look in her eyes. He had been waiting for her for hours and it was only now at 2 in the morning that she had finally showed up and he couldn't be more thrilled about it. He had decided that after her little reaction in the grill earlier that night, that he was going to head over to her apartment building and and find her door. It took a while, but he was able to find someone walking around and glamored them long enough to find out which apartment was Allison's and since then he had stood right outside her door, waiting for the moment she would appear so he was guaranteed that she would have no choice but to talk to him. And now she was here and it was time to start things off.

"Why is it that you never seem happy to see me?" He asked, watching as she rolled her eyes and started moving again from the spot she had paused at while clenching her tiny fists like she was fighting off fury. And she was, he could sense in in her blood.

"Do you have any idea how annoying you are?" She asked, reaching into her pocket to get her key while she stood apart from him and looked up into his face. Her eyes were sparkling green and her face so innocent that he momentarily fell silent while she spoke. "Because if you do then you can understand how I am never in the mood to see you."

"I can change that theory if you will let me." He suggested, raising his eyebrows at her in the hopes that she would fall for it. "All you have to do is let me in, and uh...I'll show you what a nice vampire I can be."

"You must think I was born yesterday." Allison shook her head, seemingly amused by his words. "Mr. Salvatore, I may look naive, but I'm not. I've dealt with vampires like you and I have no desire to fall into that trap again."

"Trust me sweetheart, you've never met a vampire like me. I'm one of a kind." He told her, fully standing behind his attitude and behavior, knowing there was no one else quite like him. Despite what she said.

"Oh I highly doubt that." She answered back with a smirk, stepping up to him until they were almost touching without the slightest hint of fear in her face. She actually reached out and grabbed a fistful of his black t-shirt and held on tightly while drawing her face up to look him in the eye. "Because you are exactly the kind of vampire I would have gotten involved with. The one who wears the leather jacket and has the bad attitude and walks around trying to get everything he wants either by intimidation or seduction. You are the vampire who pretends to be a bad boy because he is too afraid to let in his emotions and feel something that could actually be good for him. You are the vampire who turns off all sense of humanity because you don't think you are anything but a monster. You would rather hide behind your violent behavior and pretend you don't have a heart because you are afraid of feeling something you're not comfortable with. You are the vampire who toys with people to get what he wants because you don't know how else to be. Am I close?"

"You forgot to add extremely good looking and great in bed." Damon smirked, keeping up his front of being calm and collected, but what she had said just struck a chord in him. She was right, he was all those things. But there was no way in hell he would ever admit it.

"Not to mention arrogant and narcissistic." She sighed, releasing her hold on him and stepped around him to the door. She put the key into the lock and turned the knob, opening the door and flicking the lights on before tossing her bag on the floor and stepping through the doorway. She turned back to face him and he saw that there was something in her eyes that was weighing her down. Something that made her appear sad as she leaned out to him. "I can't and I won't get involved with a vampire like you. I did it once before and it nearly destroyed me. So I'm sorry, but I have to turn you down."

"You'll change your mind." Damon pointed out, liking the idea of a challenge. "There is only so long you can hold out before you give in."

"I hate to tell you this, but I'm a master at holding out for long periods of time. So don't get your hopes up." She told him before slamming the door in his face and leaving him in the hall alone with a smirk on his face.

"This is going to be a lot of fun."

* * *

_20 minutes later_

"I swear to god, the next time I see Damon Salvatore I am going to smack him across the face." I told myself as I walked into my bedroom and began shedding my clothes, desperate to slip into my pajamas and jump into bed. It had been a long and exhausting night and not just because of work, but because of the combination of finding out Elena was friends with a witch and because of the constant presence of Damon in my life.

That vampire was more annoying then any person I had ever met. It seemed like every where I turned, there he was determined and hell bent on speaking to me or making some kind of off hand comment that suggested he and I should be intimate. I dealt with enough human males over the years to know how to defend myself, but when it came to vampires, they were on another level entirely. Vampires were more intense, determined and pushy to get what they want. No human could compare to the way vampires operated. They had nothing but time to kill to scheme and plot on ways to get whatever they were desiring at the moment. And you avoid getting caught in the cross-hairs of that kind of obsession, you had to be extremely smart and fearless when it came to dealing with them directly. Now I never really thought of myself as fearless before, but I had been through enough in the past year to know how to stand up for myself and that's what I did when I dealt with Damon. It also didn't hurt that I had Fae blood running through my veins and if the situation ever needed it, I would be able to protect myself and send Damon flying away from me. But I hoped it didn't come to that. I did not want to reveal my powers to anyone and especially not a vampire like him. Once he knew the reason behind the scent of my blood, he would become even more rabid in his quest for me. And I wanted to put that off for as long as possible.

"At least I am home now and I can relax." I said to myself as I finished getting dressed for bed and then turned to walk over to the desk on the opposite wall to turn on my computer. I always checked to see if Sookie had emailed me because we were both working so much during the day and sometimes at night that we didn't have the easiest time in getting each other on the phone. So emailing was our main source of getting in touch with each other. I could have just read her mind, I suppose, but we had always agreed not to do that unless there was danger involved. And I mostly didn't want to accidentally hear about something that I didn't want to know or that would cause me pain.

When the computer loaded and I had clicked on the internet, I went to my email and logged in, hoping that I would be hearing from my cousin and sure enough there was one message in bold print waiting for me to read. I grinned brightly, clicking on the email and sitting back to read it.

_Hey my long lost cousin,_

_I know you aren't lost but I couldn't help but to try and be witty today. Bill say's I'm terrible at making jokes and I am starting to see that maybe he is right about that. But I was in a good mood today and I guess it just carried on over into this email so I will not fight whatever goes through my head and ends up in cyberspace. You will just have to deal with it. So ha ha._

_Anyway, I've been working a lot at the bar, trying to pick up as many shifts as I can to keep myself busy and my mind occupied. But there always seems to be too much time for my thoughts to turn to you and I get sad again that you aren't here. But then Sam will remind me that you are ok and you are doing what you have to do to build yourself up again and I am ok for the time being. Working so much keeps my spirits up and it obviously gets me more money to put away for safe keeping and for the bills._

_Bill says hi, by the way. He's been staying with me at the house some nights and he will bring you up from time to time if I'm up for it. He thinks you are very brave for going out and away from your home to a place where you know no one. He just hopes that you aren't lonely and you can make some friends. He worries about you too. And I love him for that because he should be worrying about you since you two will be related once he and I marry._

_Speaking of marriage, we have been making progress on the wedding plans. We haven't decided a date yet, but we are figuring exactly what we want when it comes to things like flowers and colors and the ceremony. I don't think we will do it in a church because I highly doubt people around here would be ok with it. But I wouldn't mind doing it outside. At night with the stars shinning down on us, it would be beautiful. I will let you know more later._

_I have to end this email here because I have to be up really early in the morning to watch Arlene's kids while she runs errands. So I will try and call you soon when we both get a chance._

_Love you forever, little cousin_

_love Sookie_

_P.S.- I don't know if you would want to know this or not because I know it is a touchy subject but Eric was asking about you. He just wanted to know how you were doing. I think he misses you._


	5. A bit at a time

**Chapter 5 A bit at a time**

_A few days later_

"Oh this day has been so long already. And it's only noon." Bonnie groaned out loud as she walked down the sidewalk, lugging her backpack over her shoulder as she went in search of food. She had left the school grounds for the lunch hour so she could eat somewhere else and she was considering going home but her eyes landed on the building at the corner across the street from her and she grinned. "I think lunch at the Grill sounds good."

She hurried across the street, wrapping her coat around her body tightly as the wind picked up and yanked her hair back behind her head. It was getting colder every day and it was times like this when she wished she lived some place with consistently warm weather all year around. Mystic Falls had its fair share of coldness every year even sometimes getting the occasional bad blizzard. And sometimes it was nice and other times she wished it all away. But as she stepped through the door to the Mystic Grill, a smile unfolded across her face as she saw that the place was virtually empty and that she could sit anywhere she wanted. So she chose a table against the wall across from the door that way she could see who else walked in and still be enough out of the way where she could have some time to herself. She sat down and shrugged out of her coat, tossing it over an empty chair while reaching into her bag for a book. She had barely pulled it out when the sound of footsteps filled the air and she looked up and saw Allison standing there. "Oh hey Allison. I didn't know you worked here during the day."

"Yea, I do." She replied, her voice sounding cold as she answered and Bonnie watched her face, taking in the blank expression that she wore and Bonnie was hit with the sense that something wasn't right at the moment. Allison pulled out a notepad and focused her eyes downward. "What do you want?"

"Um is something wrong?" Bonnie asked, wondering if she had somehow offended this girl, who she had only met a few days ago. And she couldn't recall doing or even saying anything remotely offensive.

"Why would you think something is wrong?" Allison shot back fiercely, her voice tinged with disgust as her hands went to her hips while she waited for Bonnie to reply.

"You are just speaking very curtly and you won't look me in the eye and it makes me wonder if something happened." Bonnie explained, brushing her hair out of her face as she looked at the girl. She didn't understand what she had done to make Allison speak to her the way she was, but maybe if she tried to bring it up then it could get resolved. "I know we don't know each other, but if I in anyway did something to bother you then I apologize."

"I don't want your apology." Allison snapped, her green eyes filling with fury as she stared down at her. "I just want to take your fucking order so I can get away from you."

"Why are talking to me like that?" Bonnie demanded, her own voice getting dark with anger as she stood up to face the brunette. "I have been nothing but polite to you since the night we met and you are all over the place every time we come in contact."

"And your point is what exactly?" Allie asked, narrowing her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"My point is that we barely know one another and you are practically yelling at me for a reason I don't know." Bonnie told her with a sigh. "And I don't think I did anything. So why are you being like this?"

"Like you don't know." Allison huffed, rolling her eyes in disbelief like the answer was so obvious but the truth was that Bonnie was getting more and more confused the longer the two of them stood there and conversed. "You stand there and pretend to be all nice and unassuming and that lasts for about two minutes before you unleash hell on the world."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bonnie frowned, a sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach as she looked at the older girl and tried to see passed the anger and as she did, she saw the smallest hint of fear in the brunette's eyes and it made her ask. "Allison, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, just leave me alone witch." Allison spat out, shocking Bonnie with her words and left the area, stomping back to the door and disappearing into the back while Bonnie just dropped down into her chair and tried to make sense of what just occurred.

* * *

_45 minutes later_

"Hey Allison, are you feeling alright?" Tony, the daytime manager of the Grill asked me when I entered the break room after dealing with a table of loud obnoxious teenagers and dropped down onto a crate of supplies and cradled my head in my hand with a loud groan.

"Oh I am fine. Just a bad migraine." I answered back, looking up with a smile to see my boss watching me with a concerned look on his face. "What?"

"Nothing. I just was looking over the paperwork and I see that you've been working both the day shift and the night shift since you were hired." He told me as he walked over and set down a bottle of water and two aspirin on the box next to me. "And I'm thinking that maybe it's time you took a break."

"No no. I'm fine." I protested, tilting my head back and popping the pills in my mouth with a swig of water and swallowed. "I don't want to take a break. I wouldn't know what to do with myself unless I was working."

"I appreciate the enthusiasm for wanting to work more hours then you should, but legally we need to give you a day off here and there. And you haven't had one yet." He pointed out, patting my shoulder. "So take the rest of the day off and go rest."

"Oh come on. I don't need to rest." I said running my hands through my hair and feeling my nerves getting tighter and tighter no matter what I did. So I knew that my insistence that I didn't need to rest was a bullshit lie. I was in desperate need of rest but I didn't want to admit it. I didn't want to seem weak. "I really do want to work today. It wouldn't make me feel better if I didn't come back till tomorrow."

"Alright I will make you a deal. If you go home now I won't make you wait till morning to come back in. You can come back for your night shift at 8." Tony bartered with me, one hand on his hip while the other went to point at the clock. "It's already 1 o'clock and your shift is only a few hours off. So go now and you can come back."

"Fine. But thank you." I told him, smiling in gratitude as I untied my apron and went to store it in my locker against the wall and grab my bag. I slammed the door shut and then turned to wave at him. "Bye Tony."

"Bye Allison. Rest up." He ordered sternly, waving good bye as I stepped out the back door into the employee parking lot where my car was parked in a spot directly parallel to the door.

I breathed in the crisp air as I walked across the pavement toward my car and crossed my arms over myself to stay warm. The wind rustled my hair and blew it around my face as I unlocked the door and climbed inside to the quietness of my vehicle. It would have been a decent day to walk home, but when I went in this morning I wasn't expecting to be going home this early. So I would still drive it back rather then leave it here and walk because when I had to start my shift at 8 I did not want to be walking the streets when it was dark, even though my apartment was only a few blocks from here. This world was full of vampires and god only knows what else.

"Oh wait I do know what else is out there. Witches." I said to myself as I pulled out of the parking lot and began driving down the main street of Mystic Falls while my mind started drifting back to my encounter with Bonnie earlier that day.

I knew I had been rude. I knew that and she knew that and that was why she had called me out on it every time I said something to her while she had been there. But I couldn't help the words that had continued to spill out of my mouth. It's not that I thought she was a bad person because I was sure she wasn't. But just the simple fact of finding out she was a witch was enough to override my common sense and made me be mean to her. I couldn't stop the fear that had been present in my body for the last few days since reading her mind the night we had met. It just brought back so many bad memories of when I had been attacked that night in the woods. I still woke up in a sweat sometimes because of it and anytime I walked or even drove by a forest, I broke out in a panic and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. I had almost been killed by a creature that was a witch. I had been bitten and fed on from this witch hybrid and even the mere mention of the word witch was going to send me into a tailspin. I didn't mean to react as weirdly or as mean as I did, but being that close to another witch just freaked me out. I was scared for my life and I was barely holding it together as it was and I needed to be as strong as I could and if that meant being mean, then so be it.

It was my life and I had to protect it. Because no one else could.

_

* * *

__2 hours later_

"Hey Bonnie wait up." Elena called out when she left the doorway of the school and spotted her best friend walking away across the grass towards the road and Elena ran to catch up with her. Bonnie stopped when she heard her name being spoken and turned in her direction with uneasy smile as Elena reached her. She was about to smile back when she saw that Bonnie's face still held the troubled expression she had since returning from lunch. "Hey what's the matter?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. Just tired." Bonnie replied, rubbing her eyes with her fingers while they stood there facing each other. "Come on, let's keep walking."

"You don't look fine. You've been acting weird since you came back after lunch." Elena pointed out, wrapping the edges of her sweater around her thin frame as they moved in stride. She glanced at Bonnie, watching her friend's face as it scrunched up in thought and Elena sighed. "Ok, what happened? And don't lie because it is all over your face."

"Fine, I'll tell you since I feel the need to talk about it with someone and you are my best friend." Bonnie stated, a real smile appearing on her lips briefly before dissipating into a frown. " I had lunch at the Grill. Or at least I was going to before I left."

"Why did you leave?" Elena questioned, knowing this had something to do with Allison. It was just the first thing that popped into her head and she knew that had to be it. "Did you see Allison or something?"

"Yea I did and she was really rude and cold to me." Bonnie grumbled, hitching her bag further up her shoulder. "I tried to be nice to her and she went off on me like I had offended her."

"That doesn't seem like her. She always has been super nice and sweet." Elena stated, trying to picture the other brunette acting that way towards anyone. "I can't imagine her actually being rude."

"Well she was. And what's even more bizarre is what she said when she walked away." Bonnie said, twirling her hair around her fingers as the two girl walked along the side of the main road. "She called me a witch."

"Whoa, coincidence or what that she used that word?" Elena felt her eyes widen at this conversation turn and she pulled Bonnie to a stop over at a bench and forced her to sit down. "You don't think...i mean, is it possible that..."

"No, I don't think she knows the truth about me." Bonnie shook her head with a heavy, drawn out sigh. "There is no way she could."

"Are you sure?" Elena pushed further, setting her bag on the grass and turning to look at her best friend nervously. " I mean, that's a pretty big nail to hit on the head without it meaning something."

"I just don't think there is any way she could know." Bonnie shrugged, clasping her hands together in her lap. "I mean, I didn't tell her and I know you didn't tell her. And I doubt Stefan or Damon told her. So it just has to be a case of completely stumbling on to the truth without even realizing it."

"Maybe you're right." Elena nodded, running a free hand through her straight hair before crossing her arms and sitting back. "But if you're not, I wonder if this means something else to be worried about."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie wondered, turning her head in Elena's direction with an uneasy look in her features. "What, like she thinks witches are her enemy or something and she might be dangerous?"

"It could be. I mean she did react strangely whenever you guys are around each other. So maybe she doesn't see the need to be nice to you and is just waiting for when to react." Elena explained, trying to make sense of the whole situation. "Maybe we should go over to see Stefan and Damon and see what they think. Maybe they could help."

"Well as much as I don't like Damon, I think you are right." The young witch agreed, setting her hands on top of her knees and pressed he lips together without fighting the subject at all. "Let's do it. We'll go there tonight as soon as it gets dark and figure out what to do. Hopefully we come up with something."

"We will. I just know we will. I have a feeling that something is going to come out of this night. I just don't know what."

* * *

_A few more hours later_

"If I don't stop looking around like that, people are going to start thinking I am crazy." I said out loud as I held both my hands around my cup of coffee and watched the people walk by me on the sidewalk as I sat at a table outside the cafe and tried to calm my frazzled nerves but nothing seemed to work and it made me wonder why I had even bothered coming out of my apartment anyway.

After I had been sent home I actually did go home to try and lay down for a nap. But sleep did not come to me all that easily. I tossed and turned for about an hour before I got fed up and jumped back out of bed as quickly as I had jumped in. I had grabbed my keys, wondering what it was that I was going to do to pass the time and I ended up wandering aimlessly around the town square before settling back at the coffee shop where I had met Elena the morning after we had first been introduced. I had no appetite for anything but I did force myself to get a cup if only to have something to do while I sat out here killing time. It wasn't that I was against having time off because I wasn't. I knew I could push myself too far if I worked too much. But with everything going on with those Salvatore brothers being interested in my identity and the whole thing with Bonnie being a witch, I just needed some kind of distraction. The last thing I needed was time off where my mind could wander free and freak me out even more. My head was not a safe place right now.

"Hey Allison." A voice called my name from across the street and my head shot up not just from knowing it was Elena but also because I knew there could no one else who would call me out on the street. I still didn't know anyone else around town except for her, Bonnie and the Salvatores. And obviously the vampires wouldn't be calling my name in broad daylight. I saw her walking across the street with her coat wrapped around her and her bag swinging from her hand before she came up to my table and sat down in the chair across from me. "How are you?"

"Why? What have you heard?" I asked defensively, my tone a lot sharper and cold then I had intended it to be and I could tell it caught Elena by surprise.

"Uh, I haven't heard anything. I was just trying to be nice." She replied easily, brushing off my harsh answer like it was nothing and smiled. "So seriously, how are you?"

"I'm fine." I told her, narrowing my eyes because I suspected there was a reason behind her asking me if I was ok. I wasn't going to point it out directly, but I knew it was there.

"You just seem a little on edge that's all." She observed with a shrug, biting on her bottom lip in thought. "Like something is bothering you."

"Oh wait, did Bonnie tell you that after we ran into each other at the Grill? Is that what this is about?" I questioned, watching her face get tight and drawn and I knew I had the right answer. I rolled my eyes and sighed. "You two don't waste any time sharing information."

"She's my best friend. And she was worried that something was the matter." Elena protested, scrunching up her pretty face as she looked at me. "Do you feel like talking?"

"Not really..." I began to say but my voice was interrupted by a third party.

"Hey Elena, where did you run off to...Oh Allison." It was Bonnie. She had come out of a book store a few shops down and across the street from where Elena and I were sitting and she was making her way towards us. This was not good. I had to get out of here.

"I need to go." I told Elena, standing up immediately and tossing my half full coffee cup in the trash bin on the sidewalk, while keeping my eye on the quickly approaching Bonnie. "I'll see you around."

"Why are you leaving? Why can't you stay?" Elena asked, looking confused as she looked over her shoulder at her friend before focusing her eyes on me again. "Is it because of Bonnie?"

"Yes, now I need to go." I said, backing away as Bonnie got across the street and started walking over to us. "Do not follow me."

I turned on my heels and shot off in the opposite direction from where they stood, not caring that people were staring at me as I hurried away. I couldn't be in the same vicinity as a witch. It hadn't ended well for me the last time and there was no telling if the present would be any different. She seemed nice but I couldn't take that chance. The last witch I had met had seemed harmless at first, but then it attacked me and I was nearly killed. So no, I wouldn't trust her.

_

* * *

__Later that night at the Salvatore house_

"...and after she called me a witch she stomped off and didn't return." Bonnie finished recounting her run in with Allison earlier that day at the Grill while Elena and Stefan sat around the living room with her and listened with pensive looks on their faces. "Now Elena and I thought that was too big of a coincidence for her to use the exact word to describe who I am."

"I agree. It's not random that she would call you a witch and then disappear any time she sees you." Stefan agreed, leaning forward with his arms on his knees as he looked at both girls. "It means something."

"So what do we do about it?" Elena asked, looking at her vampire boyfriend and then to her best friend for answers. "Because I assume we aren't just going to leave it alone."

"Of course not." A smug voice said as it entered the room and all three of them groaned when Damon strolled in with a mug of blood in his hand and a smirk on his face that he had been up to no good. He took a seat in a leather arm chair by the fire and propped his arm on the back of it. "Something needs to be done and it's going to be done now."

"And what do you suggest?" Stefan asked, turning his apprehensive stare on his brother. "And before you even say it, no we are not going attack her and bite her until she gives us answers."

"Oh darn. That would have been fun." Damon shook his fist in the air in mock disappointment before taking a gulp of the blood and swallowing enthusiastically. "Remind me again why we can't do that?"

"Are you serious?" Elena demanded, feeling disgust wash over her as she looked at the older Salvatore brother. "You would attack an innocent girl just because you want to know what she is and why she is acting weird?"

"Precisely." Damon nodded, raising his eyebrows at the entire room. "And how do we know she is so innocent anyway?"

"We don't know if she isn't." Bonnie reminded them, speaking up from her place on the couch as they turned their heads in her direction. "She may act strange around me, but that doesn't necessarily mean something is suspicious. And if we go and force answers out of her, it could be damaging."

"So." Damon shrugged, chugging down the rest of his blood before setting the mug on the table. "I don't see the problem."

"Of course you don't." Elena snapped, rolling her eyes at his statement. It was so Damon to not care what had to be done as long as he got what he wanted.

"We can't just bother her without a reason." Stefan said, sitting back against the back of the couch. "I know we all think it is something to worry about, but until she actually does something that proves anything, then we can't intervene."

"Why not?" Damon piped up again but they all chose to ignore him and he huddled in his chair with a huff.

"I'm not saying that we force something out of her because that won't make her want to tell us anything. But maybe if we just show up and try to converse nicely then maybe something will come of it." Stefan pointed out with a shrug. "I think it is the best option, because I don't think we are willing to let this go. At least if we speak with her, then maybe we will have a peace of mind."

"Converse? Speak with?" Damon commented, mocking his brother's tone and way of speaking. "Seriously Stefan. Are you deliberately trying to sound like you're still stuck in the 1800's?"

"Oh dear god, will just shut up for once?" Elena sighed, her frustration with Damon starting to boil over. "We need to nail down what's going to happen."

"We already know what's going to happen." Damon pointed out, standing up and going over to the fireplace and placing his arm on the mantle. "We are going to confront her."

"We are?" Elena looked at Bonnie and Stefan who nodded and then looked at Damon. "For real?"

"Yes. We are going to wait for her in the parking lot at the Grill and finally get some answers. This game ends tonight..."

* * *

_Outside Mystic Grill_

"Oh no. This is one big fucking colossal joke." I groaned pulling to a sudden stop the moment I turned into the employee parking lot and stared ahead at the spot I usually parked in, only to find it occupied by the 4 people I did not want to see at that moment. I looked through the windshield, taking in the determined expressions on the faces of Elena and Bonnie and the Salvatore vampires and I knew this was not going to end well. How could it when it looks like things were going to end in a confrontation? I saw them as they moved out of the spot, allowing me enough space to pull in and park. I almost considered throwing the car back into reverse and getting out of here all together. But I was due to start work in 30 minutes and I couldn't just abandon my shift or else I would be fired and I really didn't feel like looking for another job. So I just bit my tongue and stepped on the gas, pulling right past the four of them and parked my car, feeling my heart thudding in my chest as I pulled the key out of the ignition and opened the door, not knowing what was about to happen. "What's going on?"

"That's funny. We wanted to ask you the same question." Damon replied, leaning against the side of my car with his arms crossed and that creepy smile on his pale face. "We've been waiting for you to arrive."

"What is this, an intervention?" I snapped, looking at the other three faces surrounding me. "You all came for answers?"

"That's what we were hoping for." Stefan said, sending an easy smile my way, probably in the hopes that it would ease the tension that had filled the air the moment I arrived in the parking lot. "We just wanted to understand the odd behavior."

"I don't know what you mean." I brushed off his statement, moving backwards to step around the front of the car so I could get away, but I had barely turned around before Damon appeared in front of me, causing a gasp to escape from my lips. "What the hell?"

"Why don't you just give us an answer so we know you are not something we should be concerned about?" Damon asked, reaching out and grabbing me by the arms and before I could say anything, he turned and slammed me into the side of the car, so much that it actually shook and I felt a spasm of pain. Damon didn't care and just looked at me with a smirk. "Come on. This doesn't have to be so hard."

"I don't even know what you want me to tell you." I spat out, looking to the side where my eyes met Elena and she stepped forward slightly with an unreadable expression in her brown eyes.

"We just want to know..." Elena began, looking back at her best friend and then turned back to me while Damon tightened his grip on me. "We just want to know why you seem to hate Bonnie."

"I don't hate her." I protested, even though I knew my behavior towards her had suggested that I did. "I know I was rude but I don't hate her."

"Then why did you talk to me the way you did?" Bonnie questioned, a frown on her face as she too stepped closer. "Why did you act like I had done something to you when I didn't?"

"Because...because..." I paused, trying to decide whether or not I should actually divulge the reason why I had been acting the way I had been, since she and I met. It had crossed my mind before that I could just tell them the reason, but I always put it off because I didn't want to give away any information about myself. I just wanted to be left alone and not have more supernatural forces enter my life then there already had been before. But I wasn't really having a choice in the matter. The day I had arrived in Mystic Falls, I knew I wasn't going to be able to lead a peaceful life. I had felt a pull to this place the moment I drove past the welcome sign and it hadn't let up since. I had been bothered by Damon since day one, I was hearing disembodied voices at night that wasn't people's thoughts and now I had encountered a witch and that was bringing up memories from my past that were really painful. I didn't want to have to say any thing out loud about this but if I wanted to be left alone I would have to give them something. I looked up at Damon, taking in the sight of his searing blue eyes watching me and then I sighed and looked at the rest of them. "I don't hate you. I'm scared of you."

"But why?" Bonnie asked, looking confused as she tucked her hands under her arms. "We only met a few days ago. Is it because you know I am a witch?"

"Yes. That's exactly it." I nodded, feeling my heart thudding nervously and Damon's fingers locked around my upper arms, showing that he did hear it. "It's not you as a person. It's the fact that you are a witch."

"So you're judging her without even taking the chance to know her?" Elena's mouth dropped open in surprise like she didn't think I was capable of being that mean. "That's just so incredibly..."

"She's not the first witch I ever met." I blurted out, causing them all to freeze and turn towards me with a frown on their faces, my answer not something I think they were expecting. I swallowed nervously, feeling the fear of memories rushing through my veins. "I met another witch, a more dangerous witch. And to be more specific, it was a witch/demon hybrid."

"So they do exist?" Stefan asked, rubbing his chin with his pale hand and looked at me. "How did you meet this creature?"

"It was sent to hunt me." I answered, looking downward at my feet as I spoke. "Steve Newlin from the Fellowship of the Sun had hired it to track me down and kidnap me so I would be brought to him and made a lesson of what it means when you get involved with vampires."

"Oh Allie..." Elena started to say but I cut her off, just wanting to get this out.

"I was walking in the woods one night when it found me. He knew my name and told me he had been waiting for me. I tried to run, but he was too fast and he had me on the ground before I could get more then a few feet away. And then...he bit me on the neck and was drinking my blood just like a vampire. I almost died and I would have died if my cousin's vampire fiancee hadn't arrived in time to pull it off me. It disappeared before it could be killed and after I was healed, my family and friends found out that it was a witch hybrid and knew it was dangerous because of the complexity of it's make up. It continued to stalk me over the course of a couple of weeks almost getting to me again and forcing me to live in fear. But it was found by a few vampires back home and eventually it was destroyed. But the memories of those couple of weeks haven't left me."

"Oh my gosh I had no idea." Bonnie whispered, her voice filled to the brim with sadness as she looked at me with more sympathy then I could take right now. "I'm sorry."

"I don't hate you and I'm sorry that I was rude to you. That wasn't fair and it's not normally how I act. But meeting a witch for the first time since those attacks threw me for a loop and I got scared." I replied, biting on my lip and breathed heavily through my nose, trying to remain calm. "And sometimes my fear comes out as rudeness. But it's not anything against you because the logical side of me knows I can't judge all witches on the actions of just one. But fear took over me and that's why I have been acting weird."

"Wow." Elena said quietly, covering her mouth with her shaking hand as Damon finally released me and stepped back. "I should have figured there was a real reason behind all that."

"Well , now you know. So you can stop torturing yourself about it." I grumbled, slipping passed all of them and walking towards the building, glad that I was finally getting away. "Please don't bother me again like this."

"Don't you want to talk about it..."

"No. I don't ." I stated, looking over my shoulder at the four of them and shook my head. "Some things are just too painful to talk about."


	6. Tick Tock Boom

**Chapter 6 Tick Tock Boom**

_The next morning_

_Knock Knock_

"I'm coming, just hold on a second." I called out from the bedroom as I hopped up and down on one foot, trying to pull on a pair of socks and giving up after one when I kept losing my balance. I left the room, hurrying over to the front door wondering who it was that had come to see me at 10 in the morning on a Saturday and pulled it open only to find Elena standing there in the hallway, nervously fidgeting her hands when she saw me. My mouth dropped open slightly, taking in the sight of a girl I wasn't expecting to see after the way things had ended last night. "Elena, what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to come and talk to you." She replied, scrunching her face up anxiously as she stared down at the floor before pointing to my feet. "You know you are only wearing one sock right?"

"Yea I realize that." I said back, reaching down to pull it off and then stepped aside and waved her in. "Come on. I guess we should get this conversation over with."

"Thanks." Elena smiled as she passed me, stopping just inside the room and looked around with a surprised expression on her face. "I've never been in an apartment in this building before. It's nice."

"I haven't unpacked anything really, I've just focused on work since I got here." I shrugged, leading her into the living room and motioned for her to sit down on one of the couches while I sat across from her and tucked my bare feet under me. "So what's this about? How did you even know where I lived?"

"Damon mentioned it last night after we left the parking lot. He had said that he came to see you and found out which door was yours and I begged him to tell me and he eventually did." She explained, pushing her hair away from her face while she turned her eyes on me. "Look Allie I'm really sorry about the ambush last night. We never should gone about it the way we did."

"It's fine. It's no big deal." I grumbled, not wanting to think about last night's confrontation. It had been hard enough to deal with it in the moment as it was happening and I did not want to bring up old memories. I just wanted to let it go. But as I looked at Elena and saw how she was looking at me, I knew she wasn't just going to let this go. "Seriously, it's ok..."

"No it's not ok. It's not ok at all." Elena answered back suddenly, cutting me off as she took control of the conversation. "It wasn't right for us to confront you like that. It just was wrong. If you wanted us to know about your past then we should have let you do that on your own and not force it out of you just because our imaginations were running wild. Because if the situation was reversed and it was me being forced to give away information I wasn't ready to give then I would be upset. So I just wanted to come here and apologize."

"It's really not necessary." I stated, holding up my hands to make her be quiet and when she looked like she would stay silent, I dropped my hands to my lap and sighed. "And I would rather not keep talking about it."

"I know it must have been horrible but, usually talking makes it easier to deal with." Elena suggested hopefully, crossing her ankles over each other as she looked at me. "I would listen if you needed an ear."

"I appreciate that but like I said, I don't want to talk about it or remember it." I bit down on my bottom lip as I briefly flashed back to that night in the woods and I was momentarily overcome with fear and pain as I watched the attack play out before my eyes until I cut if off and pushed it away before it could show who my saviors had been. I looked at Elena and saw how she was watching me so innocently and compassionately, like she generally was worried about my state of mind. It was sweet and it almost made me smile. "That whole situation has a bunch of things attached to it that I would really like to forget. It's what I've been running from and why I came here."

"I know you don't want to talk about it but seriously...what happened to you Allison?" Elena's forehead wrinkled in concern as she spoke.

"I can't talk about it with you." I simply shrugged, tugging on my long hair so I would have something to do other then look at her face. The longer I looked at her the less likely I would be to refuse the talk. I had no one here that was even close to the kind of friend I would talk about these things with. And although I liked Elena, I knew we didn't have the kind of relationship where I could just open up and spill the deepest and most painful parts of myself. I don't know if I would be able to do that with anyone.

"We could be friends you know." She stated, capturing my attention with her simple words and I looked up to meet her eyes and saw that she was serious. "All of us. Bonnie and Stefan and even Damon. We could be friends, if you would just let us."

"It's not that easy." I told her, watching my hands shake out of the corner of my eyes and I blinked rapidly, startled by the fact that I might cry for the first time since arriving here. I hadn't shed a tear since the day I left Bon Temps and I didn't want to start now. Because I had a feeling that once those tears began rolling, there would be no stopping them.

"Well, you think about that and we'll talk again." Elena said, smiling slightly and then stood up, picking up her purse and turning towards the door. "Even if you don't want to be friends with any of us now that we pushed you for information, my offer still stands. If you ever need to talk, I'll be around."

"Thank you." I managed to say as I watched her stroll towards the door and let herself out, leaving me in the silence of my apartment with nothing but my mind to keep me occupied.

_

* * *

__2 hours later_

"Um, hello I thought I told you to meet me here at 11:45." Bonnie complained the second Elena slid on to the bench across the picnic table from her and set her lunch on top in front of her. Bonnie tapped her watch with a pointed finger. "You're late. You are always late."

"Sorry I had to run home and get something before I met you and it took longer then I thought before I was able to get back to my house." Elena explained, dropping her purse on the wooden planks next to her before turning to her best friend with a grin. "And I'm not always late. Just sometimes."

"Yea and sometimes I'm blonde and leggy." Bonnie replied sarcastically as she shut the book she had been reading and tossed it aside before picking up her water bottle. "Where were you anyway?"

"Oh..um I actually went to go see Allie this morning." Elena paused, waiting for a reaction of some kind from Bonnie, but the young witch said nothing so Elena continued on. "We talked, well I talked about the ambush last night and I told her that we shouldn't have tried to force it out of her in the first place. That it wasn't right."

"And what did she say?" Bonnie wondered, setting down the plastic fork she had been about to pick up and looked up with curious eyes.

"She actually didn't really want to keep talking about it. She said an apology wasn't needed and that she just didn't want the conversation to go on any longer." Elena relayed to Bonnie, thinking back to that morning when she had looked at Allison. There had been such a look of sadness in the older girl's eyes while they had sat in her living room and it made Elena wonder what had happened to her to make her green eyes hold so much pain. "She kind of hinted that all that stuff that happened to her with the witch had a whole of other crap attached to it that she didn't want to relive."

"I wonder what that could be." Bonnie wanted to know, pressing her lips together as she placed her chin in her hand to think. "Because no one runs away to Mystic Falls of all places unless something is wrong."

"That is true. It's like a mecca for all things supernatural." Elena agreed, thinking of all the things this town had attracted, both good and bad and how something always seemed to go wrong. Why would anyone in their right mind come here? "But she did say she was running away from something. Maybe her home town was just as bad as ours."

"I'm sure Mystic Falls could rival any place." Bonnie replied smugly, bringing on a laugh from both girls. "I can't imagine any place being worse with vampires and werewolves then this place."

"I hear you, but who knows what else is out there?" Elena raised her eye brows as she turned to unwrap her sandwich. "I mean there was a point when none of us thought that vampires and werewolves existed. And if that kind of stuff is out in the world, then god only knows what else is waiting to come out of the darkness."

"You mean like whatever Allie may be." Bonnie commented, sticking her fork in her container of salad and moved it around vigorously. "Despite how she was with me, I still think she is generally a nice person."

"But..." Elena urged, seeing the questioning look on her friend's face

"But...i still think you guys were right." Bonnie finished, a look of certainty passing through her eyes. "I think that Allie is something more then just a little supernatural."

"We gathered that when the spell failed, now its just a matter of putting all the pieces together and figuring it out the old fashioned way." Elena sighed, not liking that idea. They didn't really have all that much to go on at this point. "So where do we even start?"

"I'm stumped." Bonnie blew out a piece of hair from her forehead and shrugged. "I guess we just have to wait until it comes to us. Kinda like how it was when she found out that I was a witch."

"You're right. As always." Elena nodded as they both turned to their meals and fell into silence as they drifted off into their own thoughts. Elena didn't know what Bonnie was thinking about, but she definitely knew what was taking over her head at that moment.

Elena was still reliving the events from last night and then from this morning with Allie. She saw the expressions that had passed through the girl's face when they ambushed her the moment she got out of the car last night. She felt guilty for not just forcing the information out of her, but for also the glimmer of pain that appeared in her eyes when she told them the truth. It was like being sucker punched in the gut to see that anguish in her features. Elena had never seen such devastation in anyone and she herself had seen plenty of sadness. And it made her want to reach out and help the new girl. No one should have to go through that kind of suffering alone. Elena knew that if given the chance, her and Allison could be good friends. They would be able to lean on each other for support through anything. It was strange to be that certain of a new friendship so soon after meeting someone but Elena was sure. And she would do anything in her power to make it happen. She would make sure that Allie knew she was always there no matter the girl tried to do to push everyone away. Heck Elena would even give up trying to find out what she really was if that would make it more comfortable for Allison to trust her. After all, now that Allie said that she knew the truth about Bonnie, it shouldn't be too hard to...

"Oh fuck." Elena snapped out loud as she jumped up, knocking over both her water bottle and Bonnie's bottle as she hoped away from the table with her hands clasped over her mouth and her eyes wide.

"Elena, what is it. What's wrong?" Bonnie immediately asked, abandoning her own thoughts as she focused her eyes on Elena and got up as well to grab her by the arm and tug her hand down. "What just happened?"

"It just hit me and I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner." Elena exclaimed, her mouth falling open in shock as her eyes darted around the town square as if thinking she would see the girl in question but she didn't. She turned back to Bonnie, staring at her best friend while her heart pounded intensely in her chest. "How did she know?"

"How did who know? And know what?" Bonnie demanded, not understanding that significance of it all.

"Allison, how did she know?" Elena could barely manage to get this sentence out and even she couldn't fully understand why this was freaking her out this much, but it was. "How did she know you were a witch?"

"Well its not a huge secret. Someone probably told..."

"No, no one told her. I didn't and neither did Stefan or Damon. And you sure as hell didn't. So how did she know?" Elena struggled to maintain her composure, but with the frantic energy coarsing through her veins, she knew it was something to be worried about. "She said she knew you were a witch. Remember the look on her face that night? How did she figure it out?"

"I ...I don't know." Bonnie's lip quivered as she too began to feel the pull of what was now being throw into the air. "What do we do?"

"We have to remain calm. And then tonight...we go back to the Salvatore house and figure this out once and for all."

_

* * *

__At the Salvatore house_

"Ok, I have to ask. What is with the look?"

"What look?" Damon asked innocently as he watched his brother enter the light tight living room and drop down in to an armchair across from him and eye him suspiciously. "Why are you using your brooding eyes on me? I didn't do anything."

"At least not yet." Stefan shot back, his pale forehead wrinkling. "What are you up to?"

"Jesus, you are so paranoid. You always think I am up to something." Damon complained, pretending to be offended as he propped his feet up on the table in front of him and sat back with his hand behind his head. "Do you have so little faith in my ability to behave?"

"That's because you are always up to something. And that look proves it. You've been wearing that 'oh I got a bad idea that I'm about to put into action soon' look all day." Stefan rattled off, crossing his arms tightly as he stared across the room intently. "Just tell me what you are up to so I won't be in the line of fire."

"Oh trust me. Tonight is all on me." Damon smirked, thinking back to the very idea that had popped into his head just this morning. He should have been asleep all day so he could rise at sun down feeling refreshed. But once this thought had hit him, he had been unable to turn it off and just simply sat in a chair, saying nothing at all with that ridiculous smile on his face. No wonder his brother thought he was up to something.

"Damon what exactly do you mean by that?" Stefan asked suddenly, looking concerned and more then just a little suspicious because he of all people knew that when Damon had something up his sleeve, then it was something to be concerned about. "What are you planning to do and who do you plan on doing it to?"

"Come on little brother, you can't be that brainless." Damon hissed, laughing when he saw the offended look on the other vampire's face. "Think about it. Who has been the one person we have been obsessing over for the past 10 days?"

"Alright fine, so you haven't exactly given up on this whole pursuit of Allison thing but..." Stefan started to say, but Damon cut in before he could say any more.

"Oh it is more then just a matter of the chase now." Damon stated, sitting up with a purpose and set his feet back on the floor. "It's the fact that by tonight. I will find out for certain what she is. Once and for all."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Stefan asked curiously with a heavy frown wrinkling his brow.

Damon only smirked and ran the tip of his tongue over the sharp edge of one of his fangs.

* * *

_At the Grill_

"Just go up and ask her already."

"I can't just do that Bonnie. It's not like she is just going to tell me straight out." Elena whispered furiously back at her friend as the two girls stood side by side and stared across the crowded floor of the Mystic Grill to where Allison stood behind the bar. Stefan and Damon had come in with them and were now sitting at a table near the back of the restaurant while her and Bonnie tried to figure out the most tactful way of approaching the mystery girl. "Why do we always do this out in public?"

"Because that way she won't raise a fuss and possibly cause a scene." Bonnie stated with a sigh, watching Allison move about behind the counter. She had seem them all come in, but had done everything in her power to avoid any interaction just like they had and so far it had worked. But now Elena felt ready enough to step forward and take charge and Bonnie started nudging her. "Go on. Go talk to her. I'll be back at the table with the guys."

"Alright." Elena sighed, smiling before she forced herself to move, taking each step like there was a heavy block of wood attached to her ankle. It seemed like forever before she was able to weave her way through the mess of table and arrive at the bar to try and get Allie's attention. The brunette caught her eyes and Elena was filled with apprehension as the girl walked over with her lips stuck together in a tight line. "Oh Hey Allison."

"I don't mean to sound rude, but what the hell is this?" She asked, setting down the mug she had been wiping clean and tucked her hands in her pockets. "I know something is up because you are looking at me the same way you were yesterday when I got out of my car. What's going on?"

"I just wanted to know if I could have two minutes of your time. Just two minutes and I will leave you alone." Elena hurriedly spoke, setting her palms flat on the counter before leaning in. "You don't even have to really talk. You can just answer yes or no or how ever you want to respond."

"I don't have time for..." Allie began to say, ready to cut off and end the conversation before it could begin but Elena surged ahead and stopped her.

"How did you know Bonnie was a witch?" Elena blurted out, watching as Allie's eyes grew wide and Elena knew in that moment that it wasn't some random, coincidence. The way Allie knew was significant. It had to be. "I remembered what you told us last night and you said that you knew. How did you know?"

"I can't …...I can't..." Allie's word came out in slow shaky breaths. She looked around Elena and spotted the table where three other pairs of eyes were watching them and Elena could see a ripple of realization go through her eyes. She looked down at the bar and shook her head. "I can't say."

"Allie, don't you think it would just make it easier if you told us so we wouldn't assume the worse?" Elena questioned with a frown. "We won't judge you."

"It's my business and if I wanted to share it with you then I would." She snapped, throwing down her rag and stomping away towards the back door. "Now please, just drop it for one day.

Elena watched her go with a sigh before turning away and started walking back towards her table to meet up with her friends. She wouldn't have to explain anything because Damon and Stefan were vampires and could zero in on their conversation even from across the room and Stefan had most likely repeated it all to Bonnie. So when she reached the table again and sat down, they were all wearing the same frustrated expressions and their body language was similar. Elena shook her head and was just about to suggest that they leave it alone for now when something caught her eye and she sat up.

"Uh, where did Damon go?"

* * *

_Outside in the parking lot_

"Stupid stupid stupid girl." I grumbled to myself as I left the Grill through the back door and walked out in to the quiet parking lot where the sky had turned pitch black and there was no stars out there tonight which was perfect because looking up at that unending blackness, it matched my mood. I shook my head as I started walking the perimeter of the parking lot in the attempt to cool down. "I never should have let it slip that I knew Bonnie was a witch. What was I thinking?"

I knew as soon as I shared just the tiniest bit of information that it was going to come back to haunt me. And boy did it ever. I thought that finally divulging part of myself to these people that maybe they would understand that I had a bad past and they would leave me alone. And after Elena came to see me that morning, I was more sure that this would be different. No one would come bother me for more information, no one would try and force it out of me. Heck Elena apologized herself for the confrontation last night and that should have been it. But it wasn't. As much as I thought I had people figured out, I really didn't. And now it dawned on them all that I knew something that no one had told me. They were getting closer and closer to discovering the real me and I did not want that to happen. It could possibly dangerous for my life if more vampires knew about my blood and my powers. I couldn't let anything else slip. I had to be more careful.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that walking around a parking lot by yourself at night is not a good idea?" A cold, smirking voice asked me and I looked ahead at the aisle of cars and saw those piercing blue eyes and that dark hair belong to Damon himself as he leaned against the back of a jeep with his arms crossed while he looked at me. "Especially when there are vampires like me walking around."

"You don't scare me Damon." I huffed, turning on my heels to walk away. I didn't want to deal with him right now, I already had too much on my mind as it was. But when I went to walk in the other direction, I heard a gust of wind and Damon appeared in front of me causing me to run into him with a gasp before he grabbed me by the arms and threw me down to the ground.

"Scared now?" He asked, stalking me across the pavement as I jumped back up to my feet, my heart pounding wildly as the sound appeared like music to Damon's ear. Because his eyes lit up and he smirked even more evilly. "I think I have my question answered. At least one of them."

"Back off Damon. I mean it." I threatened, trying to sound tough but it was useless because no matter how much I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to change how young and non threatening my voice sounded. But that didn't mean I didn't try. "I'm serious. Leave me alone."

"Now you see, I would do that..." He appeared to contemplate, tapping his chin before he flashed forward and grabbed me by the arms again and shoved me back first into the side of the van. I had barely had a chance to cry out in pain before I heard the oh so familiar sound of fangs popping out and saw the glare of whiteness, just inches in front of my face. The handsome face of Damon Salvatore was now twisted into an animalistic, unhinged way as he glared down at me before hissing. "But I would really like to know what you're hiding."

"I'm not hiding anything." I denied, knowing it was a lie but there was no way in hell that I was going to tell him the truth. I struggled against his iron grip, desperate to escape. "Let me go."

"I was going to be a gentleman about this and just let you tell me on your own, but I guess that's just not going to work." Damon replied, dangerously quiet and his face came closer to me and then moved past my cheek and I could feel his lips grazing the skin on my neck. His fangs dragged along the surface, obviously wanting to sink into my veins and taste my blood. I could feel my heartbeat quicken as he pulled back and looked down at me with his fangs fully extended. "I guess I will have to use force."

I felt a shudder go through me as soon as his words reached my ears and it was like everything around me went quiet. Time appeared to slow down as his eyes bore into mine before he started moving his head back, looking for the right angle to dive in and attack my neck at. It was at this point when I felt a warmth start to spread through out my hand and I looked down with my eyes for a split second, knowing exactly what was going on. I wouldn't have more then that to react so as soon as I saw him start to move his head in, I brought my hands up quickly, placing them flat against his chest and watching as the strong white light fill the area around us. I glanced away briefly, seeing the back door open and Elena and Stefan and Bonnie all spilled out into the parking lot, just in time to witness me using the white light and sent Damon flying rapidly through the air away from me, only to land in a crumbled heap right in front of them. They all gasped and their mouths fell open as did I and I quickly stuck my hand behind me, the light disappearing as quickly as I conjured it.

Damon shook his head and sat up with his arm on his knee and a bewildered look on his face as he appeared no worse for wear. Elena and Bonnie looked at each other with wide eyes and their hand clapped over their mouths while Stefan reached down and helped his brother to his feet. The four of them sent looks of pure shock at each other, each one receiving and sending an expression of utter disbelief before they slowly turned their heads in my direction and stared at me while Damon was the one to break the silence.

"What the fuck just happened?"


	7. Bother

**A/n: The lyrics in this chapter belong to a song called "Bother" written by a band named Stone Sour...I do not take credit for it at all...Check it out on iTunes...a super great song**

**Chapter 7 Bother**

_Wish I'd died, instead of lived_

_A zombie hides my face_

_Shell forgotten with it's memories_

_Diaries left with Cryptic entries_

_And you don't need to bother_

_I don't need to be_

_I'll keep slipping farther_

_But Once I hold on_

_I won't let go till it bleeds_

"What the fuck was that?" Damon demanded the second he had risen to his feet and began stalking towards me again, a dark look on his face that said more then his mouth ever could. I took a step back, my back hitting the side of the van and pausing me in that spot. Stefan quickly moved into place, blocking off Damon's path by stepping in front of him and holding him back. Damon struggled, but Stefan and him were the same age, so their strength was match for match and he could never move more then a few inches. Stefan would push him back every time he took a step, only furthering to deepen his quest to get to me. I appreciated Stefan's efforts to try and control his brother, but the secret was out. My secret was out and they had all witnessed it. So no matter what anyone did, it was going to have to be explained and Damon wasn't going to calm down until either I escaped or explained it all.

So much for keeping a low profile.

"Allie, what did you just do?" Stefan asked, looking over his shoulder at me, his dark eyebrows knitted in confusing as he kept his grip on Damon tight. "How did you do that to Damon?"

"I..I um...I...Well..."I couldn't even find the words to explain what had just happened. And how could I? How could I possibly explain how I had over powered a vampire when most supernaturals thought my kind was extinct? I looked at Elena and Bonnie who were both still staring at me in shock and I knew I couldn't get help from them on this. As much as I didn't want to do this, I knew I would have to come clean about everything. They weren't going to stop bothering me if I didn't. They would just keep digging and digging until they would find out on their own. Either way, they would know. So I should do it on my terms, so they could understand why I hadn't divulged it right away. "I can't do this..not here, not now."

"Oh no you don't" Damon hissed, rolling his eyes as he shoved his brother away and sent a glare in my direction. "You don't just toss me on my ass and then say you won't explain it. You're going to explain and you will explain it right now."

"Or what?" I asked, suddenly feeling a surge of courage go through me and I actually strolled forward, walking until I was face to face with Damon and could practically feel his breath on me. At this close range, I could just see how blue his eyes were and how his dark hair fell across his forehead, almost into his eyes. I was wrong, I could feel his breath, it fell like a cold wind on my skin and it made something stir inside me that I hadn't felt in quite a while. I don't know why, but I stood there looking up at him, searching his face for something I was certain was there. He stared back just as hard, his face a cold mask of blankness but it was his eyes that told me what I wanted to know. He wasn't looking at me like he wanted to hurt me, he was looking at me with something akin to desire in that vast blueness of his eyes. It made my breath catch in my throat and I stepped away, shaking my head so I would focus once more on the situation. "You're going to try and hurt me again?"

"Maybe." He smirked, his lips twisting upward, the moment between us fueling the fire of something that I didn't even realize had started to burn. "But I'm a patient vampire. I can wait until you really piss me off before I kill you."

"Damon!" Elena exclaimed, finally speaking up and looking disgusted. "You're not helping us here."

"At least I'm trying to put things into action." Damon snapped, looking back at Elena with a shrug. "All you three do is sit around and talk about your feelings and frankly it makes me sick. This is not a therapy session. Talking about it will not help get us answers. Forcing it will."

"Because that worked out so well for you tonight." Elena replied sarcastically crossing her arms tightly and glaring at him. "I knew you were up to no good when I came back and you weren't at the table."

"Well I'm not going to be boring and brooding like Stefan over there." Damon chuckled, rolling his eyes and then turned back to me with his eyebrows raised suggestively. "I prefer a more...physical approach."

"Oh god you are relentless." I threw my hands up in frustration. "You never stop do you?"

"Nope." Damon shook his head and laughed. "I can go all night sweetheart."

"Yea me too." I said without thinking and when I saw the delighted look on Damon's face, I wanted to slap myself for the comment. "You know what I mean."

"Now this is getting very interesting." Damon pointed out, his eyes clouding over in thought as I am sure his mind went somewhere very dirty. But it was gone within a few seconds and the seriousness returned to his features. "But don't think you can distract me that easily. I meant it when I said there will be an explanation."

"And I meant it when I said, not now." I shot back, pressing my lips together and fidgeted on the spot as I fought with myself on what to do. I looked up at the three faces watching me and I just sighed. "Alright, I give in. I'll explain it all. But not here in the parking lot and not right now."

"When?" Damon pushed, wanting an answer as soon as possible and it took everything I had not to walk over and hit him.

"I get off at 1...stop giggling." I shot a dark look at Damon who had begun making obnoxious noises when I spoke. "Come to my apartment and I will explain everything. Now go away until then."

I walked around Damon, half expecting him to grab me but he didn't and neither did any of the rest of them. I moved passed them towards the back door with my heart pounding frantically inside my chest and I knew this was going to be a very long night. A night full of reliving some of the most painful things of my life. Things that hadn't yet begun to heal.

_

* * *

_

___Back at the Grill_

_Wish I was, too dead to care_

_My self affliction fades_

_Stones to throw at my creator_

_Masochists, to which I cater_

_You don't need to bother_

_I don't need to be_

_I'll keep slipping farther_

_But once I hold on_

_I won't let go till it bleeds_

"Really Damon, really?" Elena snapped, hitting him in the shoulder the moment they sat back down inside the Grill and watched as Allison returned to her post behind the counter. "You had to take matters into your own hands?"

"Well no one else was making progress." Damon shrugged, waving his hand on the air as if what had happened just minutes ago was no big deal. "I had to do something."

"And you think, ambushing her in the parking lot was going to help things?" Bonnie scoffed, rolling her eyes and turning her head in disbelief. "You are such a piece of work."

"A masterpiece is more like it." Damon joked, watching the annoyed expressions on not only the faces of Elena and Bonnie but also his brother and he groaned. "Oh come on. You guys are taking this way too seriously. I was only going to taste her blood to try and find out what she really is. And now she is going to tell us herself. You should be happy."

"Wait wait. You were going to bite her?" Stefan demanded, his jaw falling open and he leaned forward with wide eyes. "And drink her blood? Really Damon really?"

"What?" He asked, looking around at the disgusted looks everyone was giving him. "I obviously wasn't going to kill her. Not yet anyways."

"Can you ever be serious for once?" Elena snapped, sitting back in her seat and shaking her head at his stupidity. "Sometimes you can be such a dumb ass."

"Relax, it's not that big a deal. She threw me across the parking lot before I could even get one taste. So it's all good." Damon stated with a smirk as he twirled the cap of his true blood between his fingers. "It was kind of hot actually."

"I'm just going to ignore you for the next few minutes while I try and make a point." Elena announced to him, turn to look at Bonnie and Stefan and ignoring him completely. "I know we said that we wanted to find out what she is because she could possibly be a danger to us but now I don't think that is the case. I mean, she is going to tell us exactly what she is and explain everything and if she really were a danger then she wouldn't be offering us all this information."

"We don't know for sure how much she will tell us." Stefan reminded her, with a pointed look at Damon when he looked like he was going to speak. "but I do agree that is she were anything to be concerned about then she would have done something by now. She's had plenty of chances. Not to mention she was scared out of her mind of Bonnie, so that must mean she has to be trustworthy, since there are more powerful things then a newbie witch."

"I agree, I don't think she is a threat to us. I just think she needs friends." Elena said, running her hand through her hair as she looked at them. "I mean, she did say she had a dark past and that she left behind things that were painful. And if any one understands pain and darkness it is the four of us. So I think we need to reach out to her. Let her know that we aren't going to hurt her and that we are on her side because she has no one. She was running away from her old life for a reason and I think we just need to be open to whatever it is she wants to tell us."

"That's a good idea." Bonnie piped up, a look of sympathy crossing her face. "I could see it in her eyes that she wasn't evil. She didn't look like there was anything dark inside of her. I'm a witch, I can sense these things. And she just looked sad."

"So what do you suggest we do when we go there tonight?" Stefan asked, laying his hands on the table top with a sigh.

"We be nice to her and we act like the nice people we are. We act like the kind of people that can accept newcomers with open arms." Elena explained with a nod at all of them, making sure they got the point before the three faces turned to stare at him with doubt. "Damon?"

"What?" He asked, coming back into the conversation and seeing every pair of eyes on him. "Oh you want me to be nicer to her?"

"Uh yea, that would help." Bonnie sneered, the obvious disgust she had for him written in her young features. "Because you of all people need to constantly work at behaving yourself."

"I can behave myself." Damon insisted, watching looks of doubt pass through their eyes and he frowned. "I can nice if I want to be."

"I'm serious Damon." Elena pleaded, grabbing a fistful of his shirt in her hand and held on. "We all need to be nice to her so she feels comfortable talking to us. But you especially need to be good. You have a nasty habit of never being appropriate."

"Or civil"

"Or calm and collected."

"Or reacting with anything but violence."

"Alright, alright I get the point." Damon snapped, unlocking Elena's fingers from the front of his shirt and shoved her hand away. "I promise to be nicer to her. Satisfied?"

"I will be when I see it for myself tonight." Elena rolled her eyes, sitting back against Stefan's arm as she glanced backwards towards the bar where Allison was talking to a customer. "I can't even imagine what we are going to be told. But I have a feeling that it's going to be really sad."

Damon pressed his lips together as he too turned to watch the brunette across the room from him and he smirked when she lifted her head and met his eyes almost instantly, her green orbs meeting his blue ones like magnets. She was stunning, there was no doubt about that. But that wasn't the real reason he was drawn to her. He was drawn to the differences about her. She wasn't human, but she wasn't a vampire. She was something else entirely. And he liked that.

A lot more then he would admit.

* * *

_1:35 a.m_

_Wish I was too dead to care_

_If indeed I cared at all_

_Never had a voice to protest_

_So you fed me shit to digest_

_I wish I had a reason_

_My flaws are open season_

_For this, I gave up trying_

_One good turn deserves my dying_

"Soooo...are we going to do this or what?" Damon groaned from his spot against the counter where he was sitting on a stool while Elena sat with Stefan on the couch with Bonnie and I sat on the armchair across from them. They had all arrived here when I had told them too, waiting for me in the hallway when I finally got out of work. I had some hesitation of letting them into my apartment but I did allow them to pass before I invited in Stefan and Damon. Stefan was polite enough to at least ask like a gentleman would, but Damon on the other hand just waited for his official entry before walking by without a word, his hand brushing against my waist as he walked. I had offered them all drinks but they all declined, and now we sat here, staring at each other until Damon was the one who broke the silence yet again. "This has been ...stimulating."

"I told you to be quiet." Stefan growled at his brother, sending him a death glare that Damon just rolled his eyes at but did eventually become quiet at before Stefan looked at me. "Sorry."

"No it's ok. It has been a while since you guys got here and I haven't talked yet so I understand the impatience." I said, smiling gently at the more docile vampire. "It's just a little difficult for me to talk about. I haven't really discussed everything that has happened this year all that much, even when I was still at home. It's hard."

"We understand that." Elena replied, compassion filling her voice as she leaned over to pat my hand before shooting a glare at Damon. "Just start wherever you want to start and tell us anything you want to tell us."

"I guess it just makes sense to begin with what I know you want to know most of all, what I really am." I stated, watching as the four of them sat up straight and leaned forward to listen and I laughed. It was comical almost to see people so interested in the identity of someone else. And now that I knew I wouldn't be able to keep them from finding out, I might as well start with the big one. "I'm a Faerie."

"That's impossible." Damon immediately said, turning his steely blue eyes on me. "Legend has it that the Fae were hunted into extinction by vampires."

"Well the legend is wrong. Because that is what I am and that's why my blood smells so strongly to you." I looked back at him and then at Stefan who seemed more open to what I was saying. "You guys were right when you knew I wasn't human, because the truth is that I'm not even just partially Fae, I am a full blooded Faerie."

"How is that even a reality?" Bonnie asked, looking interested but confused. "I've read the stories and Damon is right about the extinction theory."

"That's what everyone thought I guess but it apparently was false because I am living proof that the Fae still exist, along with my cousin." I said, smiling as I thought of Sookie, my blonde haired cousin who was always somehow on my mind. "The only difference is that she is only partially Fae, a very small percent."

"But if you are from the same blood lines..." Stefan began to speak but I held up my hand.

"That's just it, we aren't from the same bloodlines. I was adopted as a baby by the Stackhouse, her aunt and uncle. It was my birth parents who are responsible for me being what I am." I paused, feeling a lump in my throat rise up as I thought about that part of me that I hadn't thought about since I left home. I still remembered those first days after when I had been stuck in such a fog over it. It was a tough memory, but not nearly as tough as what else I had to talk about. "And that's why I was able to force Damon away from me, I have special powers."

"So that's how you knew Bonnie was a witch?" Elena asked, looking curiously at me. "Because you just...had a feeling? You could sense it?"

"Neither actually. I found out by reading her mind." I stated, watching as my answer stunned them and they all in turn looked at each other. "I'm telepathic, I can read the minds of humans and witches and shifters and even weres."

"What about vampires?" Stefan asked, pressing his hands together flat in his lap.

"No, I can't read vampires, I've tried but I think it's impossible. Even for a full blooded Faerie like me, I can't get anything from either of you." I nodded at him and Damon with a shrug. "But that's probably a good thing. I hear enough things that I don't really want to know so I try and stay out people's heads. But that's how I knew about Bonnie. When I met her that night and we shook hands, it was like opening a door and her thoughts came flooding in and she said that she was a witch."

"Wow, that's kind of cool." Bonnie replied, smiling at me in a very non judgy way. I smiled back, making a note to apologize for my rudeness before looking at the rest of them.

"But now comes the part that is difficult for me to talk about because it is the reason I left home and came here." I said, sighing heavily with my heartbeat getting quicker as these memories began entering my head and I just wanted to spit them out. "When I told you about the witch hybrid and how it had stalked me and attacked me because of orders from Steve Newlin, I didn't tell you the full story."

"Which is..." Elena urged on.

"He had me abducted by a few of his followers. They grabbed me and knocked me out when I wasn't expecting it and took me to Dallas so I could be tortured in the church until my friends who were vampires came to rescue me. And I was beaten and my limbs were broken and I lost a lot of blood and still the pain always seemed to grow. And at one point I thought I was going to die until there was a battle at the church with my cousin coming in with her vampire fiancee and a whole army of vamps. I don't remember much of what happened but it all ended after I was able to blast Newlin through a wall and a vampire got me out of there and saved my life." My lips froze when I relived that week in my head and saw everything playing out before me. I almost forgot I was in the living room of my apartment as I watched my pain and suffering playing on rewind. It was still so fresh and raw and the injuries had been so great that I was still often surprised when I looked at my body and saw no evidence of it. I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I looked back at the faces staring at me and I shrugged. "And it wasn't all that long after that that I found out the truth about my adoption and it was all too much to deal with and that was why I packed up my car and came here."

"Oh Allie." Elena was the first one to move and she got up from her spot on the couch and came over to hug me. I stood up as she wrapped her arms around my small frame and I hugged her back relishing the feeling of having someone to lean on when I had to pull up all these bad memories. "I am so sorry for all that you had to go through."

"It's ok." I told her, watching as Bonnie also got up and came over to join the hug and this time I had no apprehension at being near her. I f I could be ok in confessing all these harsh times I had, then I could be ok with having her as a friend. There was no reason for me to judge her.

"No it's not ok. No one should have to go through that kind of hardship." Elena insisted, squeezing me tighter then before and almost making me want to shed more tears. She pulled back to look at me, placing her hands on my shoulders. "You seem like a good person and I am so sorry you went through all that pain. But from now on don't ever think that you are alone. We are all are going to watch each others backs and be there for you so count on that."

"She's right." Stefan said, looking at Elena with a genuine smile and I could see the love he had for her. It was touching. "We'll be here for you if you need us."

"Thank you." I smiled, walking over to hug him when he motioned me over, but as I was embracing him, I looked over his shoulder to where Damon was still standing by the counter and stared straight into his eyes. For once he wasn't smirking or looking at me with an evilness in his features. But he was studying me very intently, like he was trying to figure out something but couldn't quite figure it out.

"We should get going. It's late." Elena said, her voice speaking up as she looked at the watch and groaned. "Jenna will kill me for being out this late."

"Yea, it's about time we left. It's been a very heavy night." Bonnie agreed with a gentle smile, patting me on the shoulder before looking at the others and motioning towards the door. "Good night Allison."

"Good night guys." I replied back, walking with them towards the door wanting to see them out like a good, polite host would do but when the three of them were out in the hall I looked back and saw Damon hadn't moved at all and was still watching me. "Um, aren't you going to leave too?"

"I would like to stick around and ask you something." He stated, standing up straight and crossing his leather jacket covered arms. "If you don't have any intention of kicking me out."

"Damon, will you just leave her alone." Elena popped her head back in with an annoyed look in her eyes. "Stop bothering her and let's go."

"No it's ok. He can stay." I told her, watching as she looked concerned and doubtful and I could tell by reading her mind that she was worried Damon was going to pull something. "Don't worry Elena, I can protect myself if I have to."

"Well ok then." She said hesitantly with a sigh and then followed the others when they began walking.

I watched them go, waving as they turned a corner towards the stairs before everything fell silent. I came back in and shut the door behind me, keeping watch on how Damon followed my every move as I went back into the living room and dropped down on to the couch with a shake of my head. It didn't take long after that before Damon appeared on the other end of the couch, taking me by surprise at his sudden movement but I didn't gasp out loud. I just watched him settle down with his elbow on the back of the couch and his head leaning against his hand as he smirked at me. I pulled my legs up close to me and looked at him expectantly. "What?"

"That wasn't the whole story was it?" He asked, his eyes searching my face again while I leaned my head against the back of the couch and shook my head.

"No...that was definitely not the whole story."

* * *

"I was involved very deeply with a vampire. And he is the real reason I left home."

Damon's attention was captured when she said this and he focused his eyes on her as he thought back to the comments she had made to him in the times they had run into each other. Like how she said she had met vampires exactly like him and how she had indeed been involved with one which is why she would never ever give him the time of day, or in his case night. But those times were different when she spoke about it. Those times, the mention was brief and fleeting and never had to get too deep or dark. But now looking at her, Damon knew it was going to turn into just that. It was something he didn't know if he was prepared to hear, but he wanted to know the whole story and he was determined to see this through. So he nodded at her to speak and when she didn't, he said "Go on. Tell me what happened."

"His name...his name is Eric Northman, he's the sheriff of area 5 back in my home state. And he's exactly like you." She said, her voice getting misty as she began recounting details. "Cocky, arrogant, selfish, violent and everything else you can imagine. But he took care of me, he was the one who saved me from Steve Newlin and from the witch attack. He was the one who discovered the secret behind why I was different from my cousin and the truth about my birth parents. He may not have been perfect but for a while, he was to me."

"So then why aren't you with him?" Damon questioned, frowning because something didn't add up. "You say you were in a relationship with him, right?"

"Yes."

"And he laid claim to you?" Damon felt his jaw tighten as he said this.

"Yes, many times." Allison nodded, twisting her long hair in her fingers as she frowned. "What's your point?"

"My point hot stuff... is that if a vampire lays claim to anyone, they aren't going to just let them go without a really good reason." He pointed out, watching her face be momentarily over come with pain and it took away any and all desire to say anything even remotely smart ass. It was weird, but seeing that look on her face made him feel something akin to pity and he actually started closing the space between them before asking. "So what's the story?"

"Well, he and I were involved to the point where I fell in love with him and I actually ended up losing my virginity to him. And I thought he loved me back just the same. He was there through all the hardship and pain and I always assumed that would never change." She whispered, her gaze dropping to her lap and even without her looking at him, he knew she had tears in her eyes. She brushed her hand across her face and then said. "But about a month ago, he had taken me to his house for the weekend and one morning we were having sex and he ended up saying my cousin's name instead of mine and it broke my heart."

"Now that is fucked up." Damon shook his head in disbelief. He didn't know this girl all that well and he certainly didn't know this Eric Northman, but already he had an opinion on the whole thing and in his head, that Eric guy was a real jackass. He looked at Allison, watching as she silently cried and he couldn't help but feel something hit him in the pit of his stomach. He had never felt sorry for a human before, but right now...it was pity. "So that's why you left.."

"I told him he needed to figure out what Sookie meant to him and how he felt about me because he obviously was confused about who he wanted. And I just couldn't be around that town any more, always worried that he would show up and suddenly try to make things ok. So I just made the decision to leave. And that's that." Allie's voice got dangerously quiet and this was one of the times Damon wished he didn't have vampire senses because he could feel the swell rising up in her and knew more tears were on the way. She looked away and stared at the wall as her face became wet and her tiny body shook. It was a sad sight and even though Damon prided himself on being able to turn off his emotions, he couldn't turn off the immense sorrow he felt for her. She shook her head and shrugged. "I guess I just wasn't enough for him that's all."

Damon studied her for a minute in silence. He took in her wet face and her magnificent green eyes and how crumbled her face was and immediately was hit with the desire to run from the room. It had been his pattern for a very long time. He didn't do the comfort thing, that was Stefan's job. Damon preferred avoiding anything that meant getting involved with the whole emotion aspect and he should have been getting up an walking out that door. But he didn't, he stayed there on that couching watching her until it struck him that he couldn't take her tears any more and did something that surprised them both. He moved his arm swiftly, bringing his hand up until it was cupping her cheek and he used his thumb to freeze a tear escaping her eye in its tracks before brushing it away and meeting her confused gaze. His fingers tangled themselves in her silky brown hair until he had confirmation that she wouldn't be able to pull away and opened his mouth to speak.

"Eric Northman is a fool for doubting his feelings for you." Damon was surprised by the words that came out of his mouth, never in his life sounding that gentle or compassionate. He saw the shock register on her face as well and he couldn't help but ask "What? You didn't think I could say something nice?"

"Not like that." She admitted, pulling away from him and he let her go, watching as she patted her face dry with her hands and then met his eyes again. He was pleased to see a small smile starting to turn upwards on her lips. She laughed and said. "Maybe you're not such a dick after all."

"Don't get too excited. I'm normally a dick all the time." He protested, smirking when he was able to brighten the look on her face and he was hit with the sense that perhaps the reason he had asked to stay behind was because for this very reason. So they could come to this point where they had a small understanding of each other and could even one day get along. It was strange for him of all people to say that but it was true. He looked at her and shook his head. "Maybe we can attempt to be civil to each other...maybe even be friends since we will be around each other often."

"Are you capable of that?" She questioned, looking slightly doubtful. "I mean, have you ever been anyone's friend before without it falling apart?"

"There's a first time for everything." He told her to which she smiled at him and it made an odd sensation ripple through his still chest. It was a reaction that he hadn't seen coming and he didn't know what it meant, but rather then show it, he put the smirk back on his face and said. "Don't you trust me?"

"I shouldn't, I really shouldn't...but something is telling me that you are worthy of my trust. Just don't make me regret it."

**A/N: So quite a chapter huh..Everything came spilling out but she saved the real truth for Damon...and Damon cannot keep his mouth shut when it comes to saying inappropriate things..but i have to say it was so much fun to write this..mostly because damon provided the comic relief which i felt was needed in such a heavy chapter...and i think we saw the start of the sexual tension beginning to take over between them. Thanks for reading and sticking through this fic so far. Stay tuned for a special announcement when i post chapter 10. Happy reading**


	8. Canned Heat

**Chapter 8 Canned Heat**

_2 days later_

"What are you guys doing here?" I exclaimed as I spotted Elena and Bonnie coming through the door of the Grill while I had just emerged from the back, ready to take my lunch break when they showed up. I grinned, walking through the crowd of mostly empty tables with my bag thrown over my shoulder and my sweater clutched in my hand until I reached them and they both immediately gave my a bone crushing hug together. I guess it was because we hadn't seen each other since that night when I revealed all my dark secrets and maybe they just wanted to give me time to myself before we met up again. Or perhaps it was because that night brought about a new understanding for everyone. There was no more secrets or hidden meaning behind anything. They now knew everything about me and I now had a group of friends I had rely on. It was an amazing feeling. "Did you come here for lunch?"

"Yes and more specifically, to have lunch with you." Elena stated with a grin as they both pulled back and started shedding their jackets before the three of us headed over to a table in the corner of the restaurant and sat down. I didn't mind having lunch here because it would save me time when my hour was up and I didn't have to waste time coming back. Elena and Bonnie tossed their school bags on an empty chair beside them before they turned to face me and Elena spoke again. "So...how are you doing?"

"Fine" I answered back, watching the looks on their faces and even without reading their minds I knew they were referring to all the heavy baggage I had unloaded just a few days ago. It was touching to know they were concerned about how I was handling reliving all those memories, and truthfully, although the first night was hard and I had nightmares, the next few days passed without me being as sad as I thought I would. Maybe talking about it really did help. "Don't give me those looks. I really am fine. Actually I am better then fine. For the first time since coming here, I feel better then I have since everything went down. I never though I would feel good after all the pain of the last few months."

"You know Damon did mention to us the other night what you two talked about after we left." Elena said, glancing at Bonnie with a raised eyebrow before she turned back to me. "Why didn't you tell us about Eric?"

"Because I knew you would get even more emotional over that then you did over the other stuff and my problems with Eric are already heavy and sad enough without you crying with me about it." I tried to explain, thinking back to when I made the decision to leave out that big chunk of information. I didn't want more tears to be shed over this situation then there already had been. It would be too much. I needed to be able to unload it all without the person I was telling it to, getting all emotionally involved. And that's why Elena hadn't been the one I talk about it with. "That's why I told Damon. Because he is not going to cry over it and make it that much sadder. He listened and took it in and that's what I needed. And I knew he would mostly likely pass it on to you guys so then I wouldn't have to talk about it again."

"Well I guess Damon is capable of being somewhat of a nice person." Bonnie said, but her voice sounded doubtful like she thought this was a fluke or just a one time thing and it wouldn't last. "But I wouldn't count on it happening all that often. He is not exactly in tune with his sensitive side."

"No worries, I'm not going to be leaning towards him for comfort in the future if I need it." I laughed, running my hands through my hair as I thought back to the dark haired vampire and shook my head. "Yea, not happening."

"You say that with such certainty that you will won't go to him the next time you need someone to talk to. But he was the one who you chose to tell this to." Elena pointed out, a small smile appearing on her lips and upon looking at Bonnie, who wore the same expression, it was obvious that the two girls had discussed something amongst themselves. Elena looked at me with a shrug. "That has to mean something."

"Uh not really." I disagreed, sitting back in the wooden chair with a frown on my face. "What could possibly make you think it meant something?"

"You told him about your breakup instead of coming to me or Bonnie." Elena said, leaning forward to look at me with her hands twisted together on the table. "Even if you only told him because he was a vampire and wouldn't get emotional about it, you still could have even talked to Stefan. But you didn't. You chose Damon. Why?"

"I don't know. I just did. I don't really see why you are reading into this so much." I frowned, looking at both their faces and seeing this unreadable expression in their eyes and I frowned even harder. "What?"

"You think Damon is attractive, right?" Bonnie asked, biting down on her bottom lip to keep from laughing at the very thought. "I mean, you've noticed it before all this went down, right?"

"Well yea, it's kind of hard to miss. And I won't lie. He is attractive, very attractive. But he's also arrogant and full of himself and that almost cancels out his good looks." I stated, continuing to watch them as they sent each other more looks and I began getting this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"We were talking about it and we think that you confided in Damon because there is something brewing between you guys." Elena replied a slight smirk on her face that she could no longer hide. "I mean, it's kind of obvious now."

"No it's not." I protested, my mouth hanging open at what she was saying. It was crazy and ridiculous and so absurd that I almost wanted to laugh. "You're crazy. What makes you think there is anything happening between him and I?"

"I don't know..." Elena began to speak, her brown eyes sparkling as she appeared to be thinking back to a point in time and then she focused her gaze on me. "I just...there was something there that night in the parking lot. The way you just walked up to him and showed no fear. And then how he was looking at you...and how you were looking at him. It was like...like..."

"Like what? Spit it out Elena." I demanded, wanting to know what she was getting at.

"Like you were surprised you still had your clothes on." Elena finished, her statement catching me completely off guard that I felt a flush come over my face and she started pointing at me and giggling. "Oh my god, I knew it. I knew there was something flaring up between you and him."

"Oh shut up. You are imagining things." I told her, rolling my eyes and ending the conversation before it could go further. "We're changing the subject and we're going have a nice pleasant lunch. No more talk about Damon."

"Whatever you say..."

* * *

_At the Salvatore house_

"You're still thinking about her aren't you?" Stefan asked him with a wicked grin as the two of them walked into the light tight living room of their house and dropped down onto opposite couches to look at each other. Stefan sent him a look before saying. "Actually don't even answer that. I already know it is a yes. It's all over your face."

"Like you're not doing the same thing after finding out what she is?" Damon retorted, staring at his brother with a knowing look. "We already knew her blood was something different but now that we know it's because it is Fae blood, that just makes it all the more appealing. Don't you think?"

"I won't lie, her blood was the most delicious I had ever smelt, but I have no desire to try and taste it. It doesn't interest me." Stefan answered back with a shrug of his broad shoulders to prove he was back to being his usual boring self. "Besides, I wasn't referring to the whole blood thing."

"Then what were you referring to little brother?" Damon turned in his seat and sent a look at Stefan, watching as the lighter haired vampire sat back with a smile. "What?"

"I'm just stating what I saw, but ever since that night that we found out about her and her past you've been sitting around and I know you have been thinking about her when you have those hour long silences before you even talk again and that doesn't happen with you all that often unless something has really captured your attention." Stefan commented, fighting the urge to smile as he spoke. "And when you do that, I can tell it has nothing to do with the fact that she has fae blood in her veins. It's something else entirely."

"And what would that be?" Damon questioned, smirking with the fact that for once, his brother was starting to catch on to something. "What idea did you come up with that takes precedence over the blood issue?"

"Think about it. You didn't just use force on her in the parking lot because you wanted to know what she was. You did it because you've been looking at her like you wanted to do something else." Stefan smirked, momentarily over come with laughter. "Like you wanted to rip her clothes off and take her right then and there against the car."

"I guess I am that predictable." Damon murmured as the thought crossed his mind and he smirked. "I mean, who wouldn't think about doing that to her?"

"And you have said that you find her attractive." Stefan pointed out, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees before suggesting "I think you should do something about it."

"What makes you think I haven't done that already?" Damon shot back, raising his eyebrows so high that he was sure it looked comical. "Maybe I did put a move on her."

"Throwing her against the side of a car and trying to bite her doesn't count Damon." Stefan protested with a deep roll of his eyes. "Why don't you try to be serious? I know you like her, so try a different approach."

"I'm not looking for serious, I'm looking for fun." Damon told his brother, also sitting up and getting out of his seat and reaching for the bottle of blood he had left on the table earlier. "Besides, I already tried and she shot me down cold. I'm not interested in trying harder. Like I said,fun not serious."

"Hmm, somehow I doubt that is true, but I will let it go for now." Stefan smiled knowingly and clapped his hand together. "So...are you going to try and see her tonight?"

"Maybe I will." Damon pressed his lips together tightly and grinned evilly. "Who knows? Maybe I will get lucky tonight."

"Is that all you ever think about?" Stefan asked, his brow knitted in a frown.

"No, it is definitely not the only thing I think about. "Damon replied, his tongue running over his teeth hungrily. "But I will take whatever comes first."

"And you really don't want to get serious with her?" Stefan asked curiously just to clarify. "And possibly have a functional relationship that could end up being a good thing for you. Probably the best thing?"

"Nope...no relationship, just fun. I don't do the serious thing."

* * *

_Later that night_

"You look like you are in a much better mood these days." Tony told me as we sat back in the break room and prepared for the early evening shift. He was filling in for the night time manager who had gotten sick and he came in on what was supposed to be his night off to help out and I was glad. I liked Tony, he was an older man who had been married to the same woman for the past 40 years and he reminded me so much of my grandfather. Tony would occasionally point out that I reminded him of one of his daughters who was my age. It forged a kinship between us and whenever I came into work I was happy to see him. It was a good thing when you could actually say that you liked your boss. I had gotten lucky in life in that sense.

"I definitely feel like a load has been lifted off my shoulders." I said, smiling brightly as I slammed my small locker door shut and turned to face him with my apron in my hand. "I think I am really starting to settle here in Mystic Falls. Things are just falling into place for me."

"That's good to hear. I was hoping everything would be going good for you. You are a good kid and I have a good feeling about you." Tony pointed out to me with a smile as he checked off on his clipboard of the things he would need to do during the course of the night.

"I'm not a kid, I'm 23 years old." I protested, laughing at how people always seemed to refer to me as a kid. "But thank you. That was sweet."

"Any time little girl." Tony teased, ruffling my hair as he walked by on his way out of the room. "See you out there in 20 minutes."

"Alright." I nodded, running my hands through my hair to get out any knots and as my fingers combed softly through the strands, I started thinking about how good things seemed to be going for me now.

I hadn't thought they could after how badly my life had been in shambles just a few weeks ago but I had been taken by surprise and I was glad of it. I needed something good in my life to counter all the pain and anguish I was stilling feeling. I knew it had only been a couple of weeks since all this horror had dropped down on me and I shouldn't expect to feel better for a while. But I did feel better. Granted it was only a tiny bit, but that was still an improvement to the utter devastation I had felt when I left home. I had woken up this morning feeling slightly more alive then I had when I first got here. I don't know if it was just because I was away from Bon Temps and in some place new where no one knew me. Or if it was because I had shared my pain with others and was now making friends that I could trust and lean on. Or perhaps if it was because of something else...or someone else.

"No no no. Don't even think about it." I scolded myself, shaking my head to rid myself of those thoughts as I unfolded my apron and began tying in on. "Do not let Elena's wild imagination rub off on you."

I refused to even consider the idea that my heightened mood was due to the fact that Damon and I were now on better terms. It was just stupid to think that just because I told him about Eric and I, that it meant he was the sole reason for the lifting of my spirits. It wasn't. It totally wasn't. And that's what I said to myself over and over again as I sat down to re tie my shoelaces and comb my fingers through my hair one more time I got up and started walking out of the room. I hadn't taken more then just a few steps before a voice erupted in my head and I was frozen to the spot because it was the same voice I had heard my first night here and never thought I would hear again. But there it was, in my head trying to make contact and I still struggled to break through the distortion of it and recognize it but I couldn't I couldn't put an identity to the voice that I was sure I knew but I could hear it perfectly.

"Allison, I'm here. I want you to come find me. I'm waiting for you."

And then there was nothing. It was complete silence as if the voice had never spoken and I had just imagined it. And for the briefest second I almost thought I had. But the shaking of my hands and the cold sweat on my brow said other wise. This voice had been real. It may have been in my head, but it was real. And I knew for certain that it wasn't someone's thoughts. I knew what a person's thoughts sounded like because I had been doing it since I was a kid. This voice however was different. It was speaking directly to me, telling it wanted me to seek it out.

And perhaps I should.

* * *

_5 minutes later_

"Hey where are you going?" Elena asked as she and Bonnie prepared to enter the Mystic Grill for dinner when out came Allison, who breezed passed them as if she didn't even see them and shot off down the empty sidewalk before Bonnie and Elena went after her and called her name. Allison stopped when their voices finally seemed to get through to her and she paused while they caught and looked at the confused expression on her face before Elena took the chance and asked. "Are you ok? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She answered back, her breathes heavy as if she had been running from something scary but as far as they could tell from looking around, nothing was out of sorts or even looked like it was getting to that point. All was calm. So what was with the look on Allie's face?

"No something is wrong, because you look frazzled and scared." Bonnie pointed out, grabbing the older girl by the arms and looking deep in to her eyes. "Your pupils are dilated, something frightened you. What was it?"

"Promise you won't think I am crazy if I ask this?" She questioned, looking to Bonnie and then to Elena who shook their heads. Allison moved back from Bonnie, tucking her hands under her arms and then asking. "Have you ever heard a voice that no one else seems to hear?"

"You heard a voice?" Elena questioned with a frown, wondering what it was that had exactly happened to put such a nervous look on the brunette's face. "You mean like someone's thoughts or..."

"No it wasn't like I was reading some one's mind. It was a voice speaking right to me. It knew my name." Allison explained, sighing as a chill wind picked up and blew her hair about her face. "when I read someone's thoughts, it is like listening to a conversation someone else is having and I just happen to walk by and hear it. This voice was not like that. It just entered my head like it had been seeking me out and it told me to find it."

"Have you heard it before?" Bonnie asked gently, sending a look at Elena who just shrugged in return.

"Yea, the first night I was here. I was getting in bed and ready to fall asleep when I first heard it. It said it was still here." Allison told them, biting down on her lip as she frowned. "I wonder if that is why I felt such a pull to this town in the first place."

"You felt something when you arrived here?" Elena was taken aback, and she shouldn't have been. Mystic Falls was crawling with all kinds of weird things, so who knew what kind of vibes it was sending out. "And you think it was related to the voice?"

"It might be. I mean, before I left home I was trying to decide where I should go and when I saw this place on a map, I just got this really strong feeling that I needed to come here. And I felt it when I passed by the welcome sign on the outskirts of town. And then that night, the voice came to me. And it was kind of freaking me out just now too."

"I could do a spell and try and track it if you want me to. I'm sure if I look through some spell-books then I could come up with something." Bonnie offered with a smile. "It's up to you."

"No that's ok. I don't want to involve anything like spells unless I have to." Allison replied with a shake of her head. "It's fine. I don't need you to do anything."

"Are you sure? Because I don't mind doing it." Bonnie assured her as they all stood there in a small huddle.

"Thank you but I am sure. I just...feel like I know who this voice belongs to, but it is so fuzzy and distorted that I can't recognize it. At least not yet." Allison looked at the two of them with a determined look on her face which was quite a departure from the frightened look that had been there when she came out. "I just feel certain that I'm meant to figure this out on my own. But if I need help I will come to you guys first."

"Good to know"

_

* * *

_

_11:30 that night_

"Oh dear god. You're stalking me now aren't you?"

Damon smirked as he stood up straight from the street sign he had been leaning against and turned his eyes to focus on the annoyed looking girl standing on the sidewalk in front of him with her hands on her hips and her eyebrows raised as if she she was already suspecting he was up to no good while he had been waiting for her. He ignored the look and crossed his arms tightly over his chest and looked down at her. "Is that any way to greet a friend?"

"Oh so now we are friends?" She asked, narrowing her sparkling green eyes as her head tilted back to meet his gaze. "You're not going to play the part of the ass hole vampire tonight?"

"First off, ouch." He shot back pretending to be offended. "Secondly, it was me who suggested we try and be friendly in the first place. And thirdly, you said you trusted me."

"Yea well, I have been wrong before. Many times." She said, stepping around him and began walking down the sidewalk while he trailed after her, his longer legs catching up to her and she appeared startled to see him there. "Um, what do you think you are doing?"

"I'm waiting for the right moment to pull you into a back alley so I can kill you." He said sarcastically, watching her eyes get wide briefly and he started laughing. "That would be a joke. We vampires make those sometimes."

"That would be a first." She sneered, tucking her hands in her pockets as they walked. "But seriously. Why are you still around me?"

"I figured it might be the smart thing to do to make sure if you were walking home at night then you had a vampire at your side for protection. You never know who might be waiting in the shadows hoping to taste that sweetness running through your veins." Damon smirked as he saw her shake her head at his comment. "And if there was ever a chance that you would let anyone feed from you then it's only fair that I go first. After all, I was the one who saw you when you got here."

"That's never going to happen so get it out of your head right now." She ordered, turning her head back up at him. "And for your information, I'm not walking home. I'm just going this way to the parking lot instead of through the back."

"You don't like going through the back?" Damon smirked as her mouth dropped open and pretended to wince when she hit him with her closed fist. "What did I say?"

"You are so disgusting." She shot back, throwing her hands up in the air. "How do I always seem to surround myself with the most perverted vampires in all of America?"

"Just lucky I guess." He sighed, laughing to himself as he watched her walk slightly in front of him. She had a nice swing to her hips and he couldn't help but study her from behind. "I'll tell you this, vampires won't just like you for your blood. You have a pretty hot ass as well."

"Um thanks...I guess." She muttered and he could practically hear the blush starting to creep up into her face. "But I would rather you not pay attention and make comments to me about my anatomy."

"Why not? It's fun." He insisted, his stride catching back up to her and they were walking in unison again across the pavement of the parking lot. "Unless you would rather just have me ravish you instead of talking about your body. Either way is fine with me."

"You talk just like him you know." She said suddenly, stopping by the driver's side door of her and turned to look up at him, the light from the street lamp catching her face and he saw a mixture of sadness and something else written there. "Eric and you...you two are so much alike."

"Except for one difference." He pointed out and before he could stop himself, he reached up and touch her smooth cheek with his finger tips. She shuddered under his touch but she didn't pull away which pleased him. His intention wasn't to make her afraid of him. He never wanted that. His fingers moved and he placed his palm down on her neck, feeling the blood move itself through her veins before he spoke once more. "I wouldn't have been stupid enough to let you slip through my fingers."

"I...I um..should get going. Good night Damon." She managed to say, stepping back from him so his hand was grasping empty air and she slipped her key into the door and opened it before jumping inside and bringing the car to life and backing out of the spot and driving off, leaving him standing there watching her go. He kept his eyes on the back of the car until it turned out of the parking lot and disappeared from sight and all went silent once more. He shook his head and crossed his arm as he began to leave the area to head back to his own home. And as he walked, he couldn't help but say something out loud to himself.

"Maybe Stefan was right after all."


	9. Running to stand still

**Chapter 9 Running to stand still**

"So I wanted to run something by you, if that's ok." Elena mentioned to me as she stood in the kitchen and arranged the silverware drawer and organized the cabinets while I sat in the hall that ran from the living room to the bedrooms and looked through the doorway at her. She had been nice enough to offer to help me unpack and get the apartment situated to my liking to make it feel more like home and I gladly accepted her offer. I hadn't done all that much unpacking and kind of just let everything remain in the boxes they had been put in when I left. But it was time to let all that out and Elena had come here earlier today to help get me started and now a few hours later, it was late afternoon and we were nearing the end. Just tying up some loose ends.

"That's fine, as long as it's not something that I am really going to dislike." I told Elena from my spot on the floor where I was breaking down cardboard boxes and tossing them into piles to be taken out to the dumpster. I turned my head to meet her eyes and she had this look of gleam there that suggested she was up to something that I knew I might come to regret if I did say yes to it. I frowned and asked "It's something bad isn't it?"

"It depends on how you look at it." Elena said back, turning to face me and pushed herself up on the counter so her legs dangled over each other. She sent an uneasy grin at me and said. "I kind of told Stefan that we would hang out with him and Damon tonight."

"What?" I stood up at her statement with my mouth wide open and walked into the kitchen with my hands on my hips. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I thought it would be fun and you could use some fun in your life." Elena replied with a shrug. "What's the big deal? We haven't all just hung out yet and it could actually turn out to be a good thing."

"A good thing?" I asked, pressing my fingers to my head as an ache was already beginning to start. "That's the phrase you are going to use to describe a night with Damon?"

"And with me and with Stefan." Elena pointed out before her lips curled upwards into a tight little smile and she sat back with her hands tucked under her arms. "Interesting how you conveniently left us out of that sentence. Does someone have Damon on her mind?"

"Uh no way." I protested, shaking my head and rolled my eyes. That was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard and I told her that. "That's just insane. I do not have Damon on my mind. I'm not even thinking about him."

"Then why are you blushing?" She asked, her smirk getting even bigger as she zeroed in on my face. "Don't even deny it, because it is true."

"It's hot in here that's all." I touched my cheeks with my palm and they were warm but there was no way I would ever admit that it was because I was blushing. I looked at Elena, watching her shake nod her head knowingly and demanded "What? Why are you smirking like that?"

"Oh nothing...it's just..." She paused, briefly hiding her face behind her hands so it would muffle the sound but I still heard the end parts of her giggling. "I think you are starting to like Damon more then you will say."

"No. There is no way I like him. Not going to happen." I decided, waving my hands in the air as I walked over and leaned against the counter. "My heart is still on the mend from my last relationship."

"That doesn't mean you don't like him" Elena responded, jumping down from the counter with her arms crossed.

"It also doesn't mean that I do like him." I retorted, motioning to the chaos in the kitchen and said. "Enough talk about Damon and let's just get back to this."

"Fine but are we still on for tonight with the guys?" She asked, unable to stop the mischievous look from taking over her face. "Just casual hanging out. Nothing serious."

"Fine. We'll do it, as long as you stop harassing me about Damon." I warned her and she nodded quickly and enthusiastically.

"Damon who?" She asked playfully before we both turn back to the task at hand and began to put things in order while thinking about what tonight would bring. It could be really good. Or really bad. Really really bad.

* * *

_Later that night _

"Mmm, now this looks yummy." Damon's smug voice spoke up from an armchair off to the side of the living room the second that Elena entered the room that night with Stefan while Allison trailed in after them rolling her eyes as soon as he had spoken. They had just arrived there in Elena's car a few minutes ago, thinking it could actually work out that the four of them might have a good time. But Damon seemed bound and determined to make things not go as smoothly as they could. That was obvious by the way he was already making comments towards Allison.

"Damon, don't start right now. It's too early in the night for you to ruin it." Elena shot back, resisting the urge to groan at his comment and turned to Allie to grab her by the arm and tug her forward. "Ignore him, he likes it."

"Trust me, I'm already tuning him out." The older brunette replied, looking around Elena's shoulder to send Damon a look, but that only made the dark haired vamp smirk and blow a kiss in her direction. She shook her head in disgust before saying. "And you thought this would be a good idea."

"It will be once Damon stops acting like an ass." Elena hissed, setting her bag and jacket on a nearby table before pulling Allison further into the room and down onto one of the couches away from where Damon was sitting. She turned to where Stefan was standing and motioned for him to come in and sit next to her which he did.

"So...what are the events planned for tonight?" Damon asked, turning his attention to the rest of them with his eye brows raised but he was really directing his question towards Allison. "What kind of trouble do we plan on getting in?"

"I've had enough trouble to last me a lifetime, I do not need anymore." Allison answered back, her eyes already glaring at Damon and her arms were tightly crossed over her body like she was preparing to fight with him all night and Elena was convinced that just may happen. Those two had a way of always butting heads when they were around each other and to be honest it was kind of amusing.

"Sweetheart, you don't know trouble until you've hung around me long enough." Damon pointed out, setting his glass of blood on the table and turning his body to face the couch with a mischievous smile. "Trust me, it's fun. You should try it."

"Actually I know what fun is." She replied, tossing her hair behind her shoulder with a frown. "And looking at you, you could probably do with having a little less of it."

"That will never happen." Damon sneered, leaning back in the chair, his eyes fully focused on Allie's face. Elena looked at Stefan who looked back at her like he wanted to laugh but he didn't and neither did she. But boy did she want to. Watching these two interact was just fun. Damon seemed to get a lot of amusement from antagonizing Allison because he just kept at it. "You however look like you need to loosen up."

"Oh and you think you are going to be the one to do it?" She asked, crossing her legs over each other and sent Damon that look that said for him to bring it.

"I could definitely show you a good time." Damon said, tapping his chin with his fingers tips while suggestively winking at her. "A night with me will have even an ice queen like you wanting to go out and find trouble."

"Let's get our facts straight, you and I will never spend a night together. Ever." Allison shook her head so fast that her hair tumbled over her shoulder and showed off her slender neck which only further proved to excite Damon as he sat up and his fangs were already starting to pop out. She quickly covered her neck again and groaned. "You are so one dimensional."

"So what?" Damon shot back, clasping his hands together gleefully. "Can't handle it?"

"You are just so aggravating." Allison hissed, throwing herself back in her seat and turning away in annoyance.

Elena giggled inwardly as she watched these two interact. It was so obvious to anyone around that both Damon and Allie were enjoying pushing each others buttons. It was rare for Damon to have someone go toe to toe with him on every occasion, but Allie fit the bill perfectly. She wasn't afraid to stand up to him and say something to piss him off. Damon needed someone like that. And maybe one day, is she stuck around long enough, perhaps Allie would give Damon that chance.

_

* * *

_

_2 hours later_

"Hey Elena, come with me for a minute. I want to talk to you." Stefan said to his girlfriend, taking her by the hand and pulled her off the couch to follow him out of the room. He wanted to be alone with her, but mostly he wanted to be out of earshot of Allison and Damon when he said what had been on his mind since the moment the night had begun.

"What about..." Elena began to say, looking back over her shoulder at the other two figures in the room and was opening her mouth to say something else when she was interrupted by a pair of arguing voices.

"...you are such a prude..."

"I am not!"

"Oh yes you are. You look like just the type of girl to hold out on a guy just because it's fun for you."

"Just because I wont sleep with you, doesn't mean I am a prude. You arrogant jack ass!"

"...actually it does.."

"Well you're not even a real guy. You're a freaking vampire."

"You didn't have a problem sleeping with your precious viking now did you?"

"You're just jealous of Eric."

"No, I'm sexually frustrated, that's the point. And your man Eric seems like a real dumb ass if you ask me."

"You know what never mind. We'll just leave them alone. They look like that are getting along so well." Elena said sarcastically, taking his hand and hurriedly they left the room. Their absence went un-noticed by Allie and Damon who continued to argue incessantly, their voices shooting back at each other like bullets as Stefan pulled Elena towards the staircase and they quickly ascended to the second floor before Elena turned to him and said. "They are a little too intense with each other. I've never seen anyone argue with Damon so much for so long. He usually makes everyone cranky and want to run away. But Allie just sits there and takes it without ever looking like she will stop."

"She's a tough little thing, that's for sure." Stefan agreed, opening the door to his bed room/ resting area and ushered her in, shutting the door securely and then taking a seat on the bed. "But I have to say that I think she has been good for Damon."

"I've been thinking that too." Elena agreed, walking over and sitting next to him. "His focus has been entirely on her since she arrived and he hasn't even made any move to feed on any other people. And that's hard to do. Normally he loses interest fast. But with Allie, it's like he can't get enough."

"I think he likes her but he won't admit it, even to himself." Stefan replied, thinking of the conversations he had with his brother over the new girl and how Damon always tried to play it off like it was just about having fun. But there was something in Damon's eyes that said it wasn't quite true. "I mean, despite the fighting and comments, did you see how they were looking at each other?"

"Like they were getting so pissed off that the only way to release the tension would be for Damon to throw her over the back of the couch and take her right then and there? Yea I saw that." Elena nodded, running her hands through her long straight hair. "I've been seeing it build since the parking lot ambush but now it is hotter then ever. And the longer this goes on the more it starts making sense to me."

"What does?" Stefan wondered, placing his hand on top of hers.

"That whether they admit it or not, feelings are starting to develop between them and you know I am right." Elena said with a knowing look. "And it's more then just the sexual tension. I can see it and I just know that something is going to happen between them."

"Damon says he doesn't want anything serious." Stefan replied with a shrug.

"Damon is lying to himself."

* * *

_40 minutes later_

"See? Now isn't this much more fun then constantly arguing?" Allison asked him as they walked through the long hallways of the house side by side with barely any light shining on them and she turned to look at him with an easy smile. "Wouldn't you rather spend the evening being this gentleman and showing me around your house rather then sitting in the living room yelling at me?"

"Actually I would rather be throwing you against the wall and biting you." He admitted, enjoying the shocked look on her face before finishing with "...while we also have mind blowing sex at the same time."

"And here it goes again." She threw her hands up in the air, her fingers brushing against his arm before she leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms tightly. "Do you seriously think of nothing but sex all the time?"

"Sometimes." He smirked, standing against the other wall and pressed his foot "And other times I just think about you in general."

He could tell that his answer surprised her because he could sense the quickening of her heartbeat as she looked at him and to be honest, his answer also surprised him. It wasn't that often that when he said something that was on his mind, that it turned out to be serious. But this time it was. And it was true what he said. He did sometimes just sit around and think about her. It wasn't like he could help it, she was in his head constantly all day and all night. She just wouldn't leave him alone even when they weren't around each other. And although he would never be ashamed of anything he ever thought or obsessed about, he was glad that she wasn't able to read the minds of vampires, especially his. Because some of the things he thought about doing with her would more then likely scare her off ever setting eyes on him again. And she amused him greatly, so he wanted to keep her around as long as he could. It was a challenge to get along, or try to, with someone like her.

"You know, you aren't as annoying when you talk like that." She said, breaking him out of his thoughts to find her looking at him intently, like she was studying him. "It's kind of nice actually."

"Nice enough to join me in my bed tonight?" He asked hopefully while trying not to laugh at the look of disbelief on her face. She showed her emotions so easily that he was almost jealous. "Just kidding...sort of."

"I should have expected that from you." She told him, uncrossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "But you keep on surprising me. I think you will be nice for a while but then you will do a complete turnaround and do the opposite."

"It's a gift." He nodded, motioning her to follow him again and she did, walking behind him with tiny quiet steps without saying a word. He peeked over his shoulder at her and said. "Like the view?"

"Not really." She retorted, smirking up at him and then walked around him so they were moving side by side. "Where are we going now? You already gave me the entire tour. Shouldn't we go back and join Elena and Stefan?"

"I'm sure my brother is keeping his pet entertained and I don't think he would appreciate being bothered." He explained, opening the door to the upstairs library and took her by the hand and pulling her in the room, not bothering to turn on the lights. He felt her step closer to his side so he could lead her easily through the darkness and once they reached the wall, he reached to the side until his fingers grasped the fabric and pulled back the curtains that hide a single glass door that led out to the balcony. He twisted the knob and pushed Allison through it until they were standing on the concrete bathed in the bright moonlight to the point where he wouldn't have to turn on the outside lights.

"Wow, it's nice out here." She said, letting go of his hand as she stepped closer to the railing to look over the edge. He felt something akin to disappointment go through him when she was no longer touching him and he had to fight the sudden urge to reach out and grab her again. It made him realize that this was perhaps the first time he felt this spark and desire to touch someone since Katherine and Elena. It almost threw him for a minute as he watched her. She turned to look at him with a smile. "You spend a lot of time out here thinking. I can tell."

"How?" He asked, moving forward until he was leaning against the railing next to her with his arms crossed. "You can't read my mind."

"No but I have a feeling about you Damon. And something tells me you're not as bad ass as you think you are."

_

* * *

_

_At the end of the night _

"I still say you should have let me go knock on the door to at least say good bye." I said to Damon as we climbed up the stairs of my apartment building an hour after he had taken me out on the porch. I was surprised when we ended up managing to have a semi pleasant conversation that didn't include all that many sexual innuendos that were common whenever we talked. He actually revealed part of his history with Stefan, including their transformations into vampires at the exact same time and their involvement with the vampire Katherine, who resembled Elena almost to a t. I wasn't expecting him to tell me so much but he must have felt the same openness I did after our hours of bickering and his past just came pouring out until I knew just about everything there was to know about him. It almost made me understand why he was the way he was. And more importantly, why he acted the way he did.

"Unless you wanted to walk in and see something that will scar you for life, then be glad that I pulled you out of the house when I did." Damon replied, sticking his hands in his pockets as we climbed up the stairs.

"Too late, I've already been scarred for life." I muttered, not thinking clearly when I said that but at that brief moment in time, Eric's face flashed in front of my eyes and it was like an avalanche after that. I paused on the second floor landing and stood against the wall as the images from that morning replayed in my head, each time getting more and more painful as the pain came back to me and slugged me in the chest. Seeing the look on Eric's face when he realized whose name had slipped from his lips was a memory that was never going to truly die. It would always be stuck there no matter what happened in the future. I just hoped in the future, that when I had flashbacks like this, the pain wouldn't feel as sharp as it did right now.

"You're crying." Damon pointed out, his finger touching my face and bringing me back to the present where I was forced to look up at him and for once he wasn't smirking or making stupid comments. His blue eyes just stared down at me, searching my face for confirmation of something he must have been thinking about. "You were thinking about him weren't you?"

"It's hard not to. Everything that happened that morning is still with me. It's like no matter how far I run or how much I try to over work myself, I just can't forget about the pain." I mumbled, looking down and hating myself for allowing my weakness to shine through in front of a vampire. I touched my hand to my chest, right over my heart and sighed. "Eric is still in there, and I don't know if he will ever get out."

Damon didn't say anything for so long that when his silence finally made its impact on me, I snapped my head up just to see if he was still there. And he was, only this time he was much closer then before. It seemed like he had been waiting for me to meet his eyes because when I did, I found myself being shoved against the opposite wall but in a more gentle manner then all the other times he had done something like that, with his hand providing cushioning before I could feel any pain. I didn't even have a second to react before I felt his breath on my face and I knew at that moment that something was about to happen. And I didn't think it had anything to do with him wanting to taste my blood. In fact, he didn't even have his fangs out, but he was looking at me with this look of hunger in his eyes. But it was a hunger for something else and as I felt his lips on my neck and his fingers tangled in my hair, it hit me. Damon was going to try and kiss me! I don't know why, but my heart flipped at this realization and I felt him pull back to meet my eyes before he started closing in again, only this time I didn't allow him to get closer.

I reached up with my hand just as the warmth started spreading across my skin and I used it to push Damon clear across the hallway until his back met with the other wall and he fell down to his knees in a heap. I felt my face tighten as I saw him look up and over at my hand where the light was still burning from my finger tips and his pale face started to darken with fury. I closed my hand into a fist as the light disappeared and my eyes rose until the met his angry, twisted features. I barely dropped my arm to the side when he got to his feet and flashed across the landing, trapping me between his arms on the wall as I was forced to glare up at his fangs that had come out in full force and were inches from my face. "Damon, don't..."

"Don't toy with me." He snapped, raising his hand and I cringed, half expecting him to hit me and I closed my eyes to wait for the blow, but it never came. Instead the sound of a pop and the breaking of plaster met my ears and I turned my eyes to see that he had rammed his fist into the wall next to my head. The action was so quick that I didn't have time to be afraid, but when he pulled his arm out, the feeling hit me and my body started to shake violently. Maybe Damon was something to fear after all.

"I can't, Damon. I just can't. Not right now." I managed to spit out as my lip quivered and I turned my head to meet his eyes and saw that the anger I had seen only moment before had already begun to dissipate leaving him with a look of pure disappointment in his eyes that he tried to shake off when I reached out for him. He pushed my hands away and stepped back from me, the glare on his lips almost too much. "Damon, I'm sorry..."

"You are a stupid, stupid human." He said before he disappeared in a flash and I was left alone with a hole in the wall and frenzied heartbeat.

**A/N: so mr damon lost his temper there at the end. thats to be expected, he is a hot head after all...but i love writting about him and i hope you all loved reading it. Anyway, just to give you a heads up, there will be another chapter posted tomorrow night and it is a turning point chapter. Within it, you will find out the reason why there is a sequel and why Allison was drawn to Mystic Falls. And more importantly, you find out the identity of that voice she is sure she knows. And let me tell you, alot of you will be very excited. Please review**


	10. Deep in the dark

**Chapter 10 Deep in the dark**

_Allison...Allison, I'm here in the dark...I'm waiting for you_

"What the fuck?" I shouted, awakening from a pure deep sleep and shooting up into a sitting position with my heart pounding so hard and so fast that I was sure every vampire in the area could hear it. I looked around my dark bedroom once, twice, three time before I realized that there was no intruder, at least not in the physical form. No, it was that voice returning to haunt me, coming out of the air to pull me from my slumber and shake me down to my core to the point where I would never be able to go back to sleep. I glanced at the clock, seeing that it was only 4:15 in the morning and I was hit with such a wave of exhaustion that I just wanted to fall back down in my pillows and let sleep take me again. But it wasn't going to happen. I stayed sitting up in bed, clutching my comforter to my chest as I continued to look around into the shadows of the room, fearful that the voice may actually be coming from a real person. It sounded so much closer now.

_Allison...do not be frightened of me...I'm only in need of help...seek me out_

"Oh dear god, this is crazy." I muttered to myself, throwing back the comforter and swinging my feet to the floor while glancing out the window to the still black sky and groaned. It was insane to think I was actually going to get out of bed and put shoes on to run out all over Mystic Falls just to find out where this voice was coming from. I should have ignored it but I couldn't. There was just something that told me I would regret it if I did. And I was starting to understand that when you had a feeling that you knew for certain was for real, you didn't just kick it under the carpet and hope it goes away on its own. And this was one of those feelings. This I couldn't ignore.

So I jumped from my warm bed and went to the closet to grab my sneakers and I stuffed my feet into them, not caring that I wasn't wearing socks and paused just long enough to grab a sweater and my keys before I was out the front door and through the quiet hallway where I didn't run into another person the whole way down. Because who else in their right mind would be up at this hour to go out in the chilly morning air to go find a voice that only they could? But still, I forced my feet to move down the steps, sometimes taking two or three at a time until I was at the bottom and I exited the building through the double glass doors and into the cold air that immediately chilled me to the bone while I paused on the empty sidewalk and tried to figure out where I was supposed to go from there.

"Good thing it is still dark out. No one will be out on the streets now and that means no one will see me wandering around like moron." I whispered to myself before I started moving down the sidewalk, looking around at the quiet streets with the tall street lamps still glowing for at least another 2 hours until the sun came up to light the town.

I didn't know where I was supposed to look for this voice that was begging me to come find it. Why couldn't it just tell me where it was? Why couldn't I recognize it but still feel like I knew it from somewhere? Why did it choose me to contact? Why couldn't it chose someone else to search for it? How did I even know this voice was definitely coming from this town? It wouldn't be the first time I caught thoughts or voices from people in the next town over. It didn't happen all that often, but occasionally it did. But I had to keep checking myself by remembering that this wasn't just a thought from some random person's head. It was an actual voice that was speaking to me and no one else. And it was apparent it wasn't going to leave me alone. It had sought me out for some purpose and it was my turn to reach out to it.

So I walked. I don't know for how long because I didn't have a watch, but it couldn't have been for too big of an amount of time. The sky's color hadn't changed all that much so it still had to be in the 4 o'clock hour but I felt like I had been wandering for a lot longer then that. I ended up on bench in the square in the heart of the town and just sat there looking around. I could see right down the streets at the quiet store fronts that were still hours away from opening and I even spot my apartment building from here. But there was no one else out here except me. I was alone, in my pajama in the middle of the town square. It occurred to me that I should find that funny, but I did not laugh. It felt too serious of a situation for that kind of reaction.

"Allison? What are you doing out here this early?" A deep husky voice asked from the distance behind where I was sitting and I turned around to spot Stefan standing at the other end of the square with his angry looking brother and they both had their eyes on me in a intense way. Stefan turned his head to say something to Damon and the next second he was there by my side, sitting down on the bench with his head tiled to the side and a quizzical expression in his face. "Why are you wandering around when it's still dark?"

"I heard that voice again." I explained, knowing that Elena would have told him about our conversation with Bonnie that night when I heard it again. And when he nodded for me to go on, I ran my fingers through my hair and said. "This is going to sound crazy, but it told me to come find it. So I did. Or at least I tried to. I don't know where to look and it hasn't spoken to me again."

"And you're sure it's not just you hearing someone's thoughts?" Stefan asked, his dark brows furrowing as he spoke as he tried to make sense of this. I didn't have to read his mind to know that he thought it was crazy.

"Stefan, I've been reading people's minds since I was a kid. I know the difference between hearing thoughts and memories and knowing when it is a real voice talking to me." I stated, glancing behind the bench to where Damon was still standing off in the distance and I frowned. "Why is he just standing there watching us?"

"He doesn't want to come over here by you." Stefan said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "I think he is still nursing his wounded pride from the other night."

"Wounded pride...oh he told you that he tried to kiss me." I nodded in understanding, turning to look at Damon who just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. I knew he was hearing every word we were saying but he pretended not to be listening and just sent his gaze at the ground. I rolled my eyes and looked at Stefan. "Don't tell me he is actually upset about that?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" Stefan wanted to know, honestly looking at me like he couldn't believe I doubted it. But he didn't give me a chance to answer because he shook his head and shrugged. "That doesn't matter now. What does matter is that you've heard this voice again and now it's getting you all freaked out to the point where you are walking around by yourself and something could happen."

"I can take care of myself, you know." I grumbled, tucking my arms around my body. "I'm not some weakling. I can protect myself if I have to. I've done it before."

"But you're also not invincible." He reminded me, a protective look on his face as he sat back to look at me. "You can only do so much and you never know if there will be more then just one or two enemies to fight off."

"So you're telling me not to go wandering around alone?" I almost wanted to laugh, he looked so serious and territorial the way an older brother would look when talking to his sister. "Seriously?"

"It's just not the smartest idea, that's all." He answered back, scratching his head lightly before sighing and staring at me. "Even if you hear this voice telling you to find it, don't go out looking when it's dark. That's just asking for trouble."

"Yea but I feel like I need to figure this out. I don't think it is something I can just ignore." I said as I tugged on my hair and watched him sigh. "Stefan, come on. I think we both know it's not just something minor. There's no way..."

"I'm not saying for you to abandon the idea of figuring it out, I'm just asking you to be more careful about when you decide to start hunting for it." He stated, smiling at me in an easy way that put me in a more calm state of mind. He reached over and squeezed my shoulder. "We kind of like you in our group and we wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"That's really sweet Stefan." I smiled sweetly at him, truly touched that he would worry himself about my safety. "I promise I won't go wandering around unless I have someone with me."

"Good." He nodded, standing up and then offered me his hand to help me up like the gentleman that he was. Once I was on my feet, he turned me towards the street where my apartment building was and said with authority. "Go home."

"Ok master." I said jokingly, but I did do what he said and started walking towards the sidewalk that would take me back home. I glanced back to wave goodbye to him and he waved back and I almost turn around again but my eyes caught on to Damon who was still watching me and I paused. I hadn't seen him since the night I blew him off and even from where I stood, I could see his face twitching slightly, like he wanted to give in to a more sulking expression. I didn't know what to make of it as I started walking the side walk back to my apartment. I could sense that they were following me at a distance, obviously to make sure I got back safely. I had just gotten to the door when I turned around and they were gone, no trace of them anywhere. I shrugged, a yawn escaping my lips and I hurriedly started making my way upstairs, hoping I could fall back asleep again without another visit from that voice.

_

* * *

__Later that day_

"Bonnie we need to talk about Allison." Elena said to her friend that afternoon as the school day ended and kids began piling out of the double glass doors, excited to escape finally. Elena spotted Bonnie walking apart from the crowd and she ran to catch up, almost running into the other students as she hurriedly reached the young witch and grabbed the other girl by the arm and pulled her off to the side to a nearby bench and they both sat down together facing one another. "I'm worried."

"Why? What happened now?" Bonnie demanded, setting her bag on the grass at her feet and turning to look at Elena with a raised eyebrows.

"It's not like anything really big happened. But Stefan and Damon found her wandering around the town square this morning before the sun rose because she heard that voice again and it told her to come and find it." Elena explained, reliving that phone conversation she had with Stefan before she left for school where he told her about finding Allison on that bench and since then, Elena had stared getting this ball of worry inside her stomach that only grew as the day went on.

"She heard it again? And she went to go and find it?" Bonnie asked in clarification as the wind blew their hair around their faces. "How would she even know where to look?"

"I don't know. All Stefan said was that she told him the voice said for her to seek it out and that's what she tried to do but she didn't hear it again and she didn't know where else to look and that's when they found her on the bench." Elena told her with a sigh. "He sent her home because he was worried about something happening to her if she was walking around by herself at that hour and he is right. You never know what is going to come out of the woodwork around here. She could have been attacked and seriously hurt or even worse."

"I agree, that wasn't the best move for her to go charging out just to track down a voice." Bonnie said, tucking her hands under her arms and sat back. "This is getting more intense then it was before. She wasn't just hearing it and doing nothing. Now she is going out thinking she can find it."

"I think it's something to be concerned about." Elena pointed out, biting on the corner of her mouth. "Not because she actually thinks she can find but the fact that she is hearing a voice at all."

"What are you saying? That she might be crazy?" Bonnie started giggling as if the idea wasn't something to even consider clearly. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

"I don't actually..."

"Come on, I mean I know it's weird to hear about her hearing some weird voice when no one else can hear it but that doesn't mean she is crazy. She can read minds and we didn't think that was so insane. So we can't really judge this any differently." Bonnie replied, twirling her hair with her fingers. "We of all people know what crazy truly is and I don't believe that she fits that bill."

"Yea but it also doesn't mean we shouldn't have some concern over this." Elena added, standing by her feelings. "How do we know it's for real?"

"How do we know it's not?" Bonnie shot back with her hands in the air. "We're not the ones hearing it so we have no clue if it is just a figment of her imagination. But let's think about this fully. We didn't think half of the things that exist in the world were even possible but they were. So why shouldn't that same statement apply to the Allison situation"

"Ok maybe you have a point." Elena sighed, running her hands through her hair swiftly. "But I can't help but have this feeling that something is wrong. Like something is about to come crashing down today."

"It's probably about something else entirely." Bonnie suggested, moving over and putting her arm around Elena's shoulders. "But I wouldn't worry too much about Allison. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders. She can handle herself."

"I hope you're right."

_

* * *

_

_A few hours later_

Something was going to happen.

I just knew it would.

And when it did, it would all go down tonight.

I had been fighting this feeling all the day from the moment I had woken up out of my sleep to go find that voice up to now when I struggled to make it through the last 2 hours of my shift before I left for the night. It just wouldn't leave me alone. It had taken refuge in my stomach and my head and my chest, constantly gnawing at me to make sure I was aware of it's presence. And I never forgot it. It made me jumpy and nervous and I was barely able to function for more then 20 minutes at a time. It was torture. I didn't know why I was so sure that it was going to be today that something clicked in to place. After all, I hadn't heard the voice again since that morning and even when I did hear it, it gave no clue to it's whereabouts or identity. It was still muffled and hazy like it was warped and I was overhearing it speak from another room. This was how it happened last time. I heard the voice and got all freaked out only to never hear it even once for the next few days. It never returned more then once or twice in the same day. So I don't know why I thought today was going to be different. It was the same pattern as before and nothing changed, except for that feeling I had.

That feeling in a nut shell was the sole reason I hadn't totally abandoned the idea as complete insanity. It was the strongest feeling I had ever had when I thought something was wrong. It was stronger then the feeling I had when I was back home trying to decide where I would run off to. It was stronger then the feeling I had when I drove into Mystic Falls. It was a feeling that took over my whole body, filling every part of me with the terrifying realization that I was going to come across something that was going to shake me deeper then it ever had before. And that was saying a lot. I knew the answer was right in front of me, it wouldn't be long till I found out. Something just told me that it would happen sooner rather then later and I had to prepare myself for it. But it felt like torture all day as I forced myself to come into work and pass the time until I knew when the right moment would be that this would all make sense.

I tried so hard to pretend that everything ok but I knew I was slipping up. On my best day when I was working the day shift and being a waitress, I never had to use pen and paper to take people's orders. Today however, even with it written down, I was barely making my handwriting legibly and nearly every order I sent back to the kitchen had to be double checked so the customers wouldn't get upset. I knocked over chairs and dropped drinks and generally was just an utter klutz for the better part of the day. And if it wasn't for the fact that the other day time waitresses were busy then I would have been sent home. But I begged Tony to keep me there till at least 6 because if I was left alone in my apartment to sulk over this then I knew I would be stuck like that for days. At least if I was working then my mind was partially some where else and that was better then nothing.

"Are you sure you are ok?" Tony asked, walking into the break room with a crate of bottles and set it down on the floor by the door. He stood up and sent a look at me that said he was thinking the same thing he had been thinking all day. "You just look like you aren't even here."

"I just have a lot on my mind right now." I told him, sitting up and pulled my hair completely out of it's loose braid so it tumbled down my back. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be such a pain."

"Sweetie, you're not a pain. You're just having a really off day." He said, smiling gently at me. "Everyone is allowed to have one of those. Especially you of all people. You're here constantly, so you are bound to not be on your game at least a little bit."

"I guess so." I nodded, allowing my hair to fall in front of my face past my cheeks so my vision was obstructed. "I just have one of those feelings that something is going to happen and I don't know if I should trust it."

"In my life time, I've learned that when you get one of those feelings that you just know something is the matter, then you trust it. No matter how much you think you shouldn't." He said wisely, patting me on the back with his large hand. "We get those feelings for a reason, you know. So we need to see them through to the end."

"Maybe you're right." I agreed, pushing my hair back behind my ears and smiled. "Thanks for the advice."

"No problem." He said before leaving me alone in the room with my thoughts.

He was right. I had to see this through. I couldn't just try and shake it off any more. It had come to me for a reason. And I had to figure out why. And I knew I would. Like I said, tonight was the night.

* * *

_Later that night_

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Elena asked her boyfriend the moment she stepped through the doorway of his bedroom and found him lying on his bed with his hands behind his head and a broad smile on his handsome face. She tossed her jacket and keys on the desk and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. "Did something happen?"

"No. I've just been thinking while I rested all day." He stated, lifting his head to look at her. "And I have to say I have never been more amused then I am on this night."

"Why is that?" She questioned, eager to know the reason behind his good mood. It wasn't that Stefan wasn't always in a sulking brooding kind of state, but he was never looking so easily happy and that intrigued her.

"Damon told me that when he took Allison home the other night, he tried to kiss her but she turned him down." Stefan explained, sitting up against the backboard with one leg pulled up to his chest. "And he's been sulking about it ever since. He wouldn't even sleep during the day today. He just keeps stomping around the house, throwing things on the floor and breaking the furniture."

"Are you kidding me?" Elena exclaimed, her mouth falling open in surprise. "Damon Salvatore? Sulking over being turned down?"

"Why does everyone seemed so inclined to believe that it's not possible for him to be offended by this?" Stefan asked, genuinely curious about that and Elena tried her hardest not to laugh but it didn't go un-noticed by him. "What?"

"It's just that...it's Damon." Elena giggled, throwing her hands in the air with vigor. "This is the guy who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted and that's in the worse possible way. He is mean and violent and he only has sex and blood on his mind. He is never serious and he is certainly never appropriate when he needs to be. He turns off his emotions at every time he can and tries to pretend that he is nothing more then a monster."

"And your point is..."

"My point is that, all those things combined make it very hard to believe that a vampire like Damon is offended by anything. If he gets turned down by one girl, he can just go find another." She explained, watching his face intently. "He's done it before."

"I know that but we were also just discussing a few days ago how it seems to be like there is something going on with those two even when they won't cop up to it." Stefan reminded her, waving his finger in the air. "Doesn't that mean something?"

"Not if neither of them are willing to admit to it." Elena retorted with a sigh. It was frustrating to her to think that these two people had a chance to possibly be happy and enjoy each others company but they were so stubborn in their refusal to feel anything towards one another. "But maybe in Damon's own way he does care and he just can't show it."

"That's what I believe." Stefan nodded before patting the bed next to him with a smile. "Now come sit by me. I've been thinking about you all day today as well."

Elena grinned, taking a moment to slip her shoes off her feet before she crawled across the bed and cuddled up to Stefan's side. She laid her head against his shoulder and tossed her legs over his so that his arms rested on top of them and she smiled broadly. Being in Stefan's arms was the safest place in the world to her and it always managed to calm her down no matter how badly frazzled her nerves were. It even almost took away the feeling of worry in the bottom of her stomach. It didn't go away completely but she was able to put it aside and pretend that it didn't exist for a while as she titled her head back to look into Stefan's dark eyes. She reached up and touched his face with her fingers before saying. "I love you."

Stefan grinned, leaning forward to press his cool lips against her mouth and then answered back with "I love you more then you could ever know."

* * *

_That night_

"Hey Allison, wait up." Bonnie's voice called out to me as I exited the Grill later that night as my shift ended and I was ready to head home. I turned around to see her rushing across the street and down the sidewalk to where I was standing with my hands in my pockets waiting for her. She caught up to me and I saw that her hair was messy from her brief run and there was a look in her eyes that said she was going to say something that I didn't necessarily wanted to hear. "Bonnie what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you that's all." She said, tugging her jacket back over her shoulders from where it had slipped off. "How are you doing?"

"Ok, let's just put our cards on the table right now." I stated, turning to face her after zipping my keys into my pocket. "You have that look on your face that suggests you want to say something but you haven't yet. And when ever you ask me how I am doing it's usually followed up with some kind of agenda. So why don't you just say whatever it is you want to say instead of tip toeing around it."

"Ok, you got me. There was a reason I came to talk to you." Bonnie admitted, pulling her hair off to one side as she motioned for me to walk with her. "Elena's kind of worried about you."

"Let guess, it's because of this morning right?" I questioned, turning my head to look at her and when I saw the tightness around her mouth I knew I was right. "And Stefan told her. I figured he would. Those two are more tightly bound then anyone I've ever seen."

"They are both just concerned, especially Elena. She thinks that maybe this whole thing with hearing this voice is a little out there."

"Does she not think I think the same thing?" I asked, frowning as I spoke because I had no idea Elena was basically saying that I was crazy for hearing this voice. "Because it freaks me out just as much as it does any of you. But I'm the one who has to hear it and I don't think I am just making it up."

"No one is saying that. I was actually the one who stuck up for you this afternoon and told Elena that it was entirely possible that this was for real. Because if we weren't freaked out by the mind reading then we couldn't pass judgment on this." Bonnie insisted sighing heavily as we walked. "Don't get mad at Elena. She's just trying to be a good friend."

"I know she is." I mumbled, wrapping my arms around myself and shrugged. "I'm not mad. I'm just frustrated."

"Over what?" Bonnie wanted to know.

"Ever since this morning, I've been unable to shake this feeling that something is about to happen tonight." I told her, reaching up to brush my loose hair behind my ear. "I just know things are about to be shaken up and I know that it's not in a good way."

"That's funny, Elena said almost the exact same thing to me today when we were talking about you." Bonnie pointed out, surprise written in her dark eyes. "She also had this feeling that something was going to happen and it was bothering her too."

"See? It's not just me. Maybe there is something going …..." My voice trailed off and ended abruptly in a gasp.

"Allie? Allie, what's wrong?" Bonnie grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face her but my eyes were already off into my own head as my ears filled up with the sound of a voice I still couldn't identify.

_Allison...It's time...come and find me...release me from my hidden prison...I'm waiting for you here in the dark...come, right now_

"I heard it." I breathed heavily, coming out of my fog and looking at the younger girl with wide eyes. "It told me to come and find it. And that's what I have to do. I have to end this."

"Allison, will you just...Allie wait!" Bonnie exclaimed, but I was already taking off down the sidewalk running like heck with no direction at all. I was just running in the hopes that it would lead me somewhere and something would feel right. Or that the voice would speak to me again and tell me where to find it. Something was stirring inside of me. I knew there was something familiar about this voice. I had heard it before, I was certain of that. And that was why I didn't slow down. I could hear Bonnie running after me, struggling to catch up but I couldn't stop. But where was I supposed to look? I didn't know, but Elena would. Or Stefan and Damon. I looked back at Bonnie, who was chasing after me worriedly and I sighed.

"Come on. We have to get to the Salvatore house right now."

* * *

_15 minutes later_

"Come on Damon. Stop being a sour puss and just get in the car." Elena ordered, looking back at the walk way to the house and to her dismay, Damon had sat down on the front steps and was refusing to move. She groaned under her breath and looked at Stefan who was leaning against the car with his arms crossed, also looking annoyed. And who could blame them? They had spent the last few hours listening to Damon complain and stomp around about how he was in need of some fun and after some convincing on Stefan's part, Elena agreed that they would drag Damon out of the house so they wouldn't have to keep listening to him all night. But now that they were out here ready to go and Damon was suddenly starting to act sulky and it was getting on her last nerves.

"You know what? I don't feel like going out." He decided, crossing his arms over his chest and stared at them intensely. "I think I will just sit here for another few hours."

"And what obsess over Allison?" Elena sneered, shaking her head and fighting the urge to hit something. "Come on Damon, she just got her heart broken. You can't seriously fault her for turning you down."

"Why not? She should just get over it already." He snapped, glaring up at the sky as it was the thing that had offended him. "I'm clearly the better choice."

"I thought you didn't want to be serious with anyone." Stefan said to his older brother with a frown. "I mean, you did say that when I was pointing out that you liked Allison more then you will admit."

"I'm just territorial. You know that." Damon spat out , narrowing his eyes at the both of them. "Anyone I set my sights on should only have eyes for me."

"Yea ok." Elena rolled her turning back to face Stefan. "So what do you want to do?"

"That's up you. You were the one who thought it might do him some good to get out of the house." Stefan reminded her.

"Yea but I..." Elena began to respond, but as she turned her head, her eyes caught sight of something moving towards them and at first she was hit with fear because it seemed to be running fast. But as soon as it got closer, she was relieved to see that it was only Allison and Bonnie coming towards them. And she was about to call out to them and ask why the hell they were running towards the house like they were being chased. Stefan and Damon had spotted them too and Damon had abandoned his spot by the steps and came over to where she and Stefan were standing watching them. Allie skidded to a stop on the grass by the driveway and paused, slightly hunched over to catch her breath while Bonnie came up behind her and stopped too. Elena wasted no time in getting over to them, reaching for Allie to pull her up and look her in the eye. "Allie, what's wrong?"

"Where...where is there a place to hide around here?" She asked, her breath heavy and uneven as she spoke and there was a wild look in her eyes that showed something had seriously spooked her.

"Why do you want to know? What's going on?" Elena demanded, tightening her grip on the older girl. "Why do you need to know that?"

"I just do! Now tell me!" Allison snapped, grabbing Elena also by the arms and shaking her so much that Elena was surprised that such force could come out of such a tiny girl.

"Well...there is the old tomb under the remains of the fell church out in the woods but...Hey!" Elena watched Allison shoot away from her and across the grass to the tree line on the outskirts of the property. She went to go chase after her but she found a hand on her shoulder and she looked back to see Damon standing there.

"I'll go after her." He said and then he was gone, zooming after Allison and disappearing into the forest without another word leaving Bonnie, her and Stefan to stand in a huddle and stare at after them in shock.

"She heard the voice again and it told her to find it." Bonnie spoke up, turning to look at them nervously. "So that's why we were running and that's why she wanted to know. She's going to try and track it down."

"We have to go after her too. We can't leave her alone to figure this out." Elena motioned for Stefan to follow them and they all began heading towards the woods. "At least Damon is with her. He will protect her if there is anything out there."

_

* * *

_

_Out in the woods_

"Will you stop running for one minute so I can make a point?" Damon snapped at me as I continued rushing through the moon lit forest while he chased after me, his longer legs easily overtaking me and he stepped right in my path and I had to stop before I ran in to him. I tried to move around him but he grabbed my shoulders and held me in place. "Can you just hold up for one second?"

"I don't have time for this. I have to figure out this out right now." I struggled to get out of his grasp but he was strong and his grip wouldn't allow me to move even an inch. "Can you please let me go?"

"So what? You can run around the woods not knowing where you are going?" He asked, sending a look down at me that told me he was thinking I was behaving like a moron. But I didn't care. I didn't even care that this was the first time we had seen each other since he tried to kiss me. All I cared about was that he was trying to keep me from seeking out the answer to this voice coming to me and I didn't appreciate it. "You don't even know where the tomb is."

"I'll figure it out." I snapped up at him, wanting to reach out and hit him but I couldn't. Not if I wanted to keep the bones in my hands intact. "Now just let me go."

"I could do that or I could help you since I do know where it is." He told me and before I could even protest what he was about to do, he already had me scooped up in his arms and was rushing me through the trees at breakneck speed. I had forgotten how fast it was when traveling in a vampire's arms and I had to grab on to him to hold myself steady so I wouldn't freak out. I could tell it pleased him because he glanced down at me and there was a smirk on his lips. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Not as much as I'm sure you are." I snapped, glaring at him before I kept my head down on his shoulder and just listened to the wind whip my hair back from my face as he moved. I watched the scenery swiftly go by and I wondered how far it was from the house. I noticed a road off in the distance that we passed. "Just get me there."

"Already noted." He said, continuing to run for another minute before he came to a sudden stop and dropped me on the ground. "And here we are."

"You couldn't have just set me down nicely?" I asked, jumping to my feet and dusting the dirt off my jeans as I turned to looked around. There wasn't all that much to see since it was night time and the moon light barely filtered through the tree branches. But I had a feeling that even in day time it would still be the same. I could make out the remains of a long since crumbled building that filled the clearing we were currently standing in and I turned back to look at Damon. "How do I get into down into the tomb?"

"Follow me." He said, strolling forward but not before he reached down and grabbed my hand and began pulling me along with him to the side of the broken down building. We walked off to the back of it and there in the pile of rubble was an opening, barely big enough for two people to enter but that's exactly what we did. I was nervous about walking around in a creepy, old tomb in the complete dark with a slightly unhinged vampire. But Damon's cold fingers squeezed mine and he looked back at me before we went too far. "Don't worry. Parts of the ground have caved in over the years so the light from the moon shines in. You'll be able to see."

I nodded but I didn't say anything else as he lead me down into the darkness and I felt our feet hit the ground. I could see some light up ahead but other then that, there was nothing to distinguish the room we were in. I may not have been Damon's biggest fan these days, but he was a vampire that I had a somewhat difficult relationship with and if there was anything to fear while we were down here then I had enough faith that he would protect me. So I stepped closer to him, tightening my grip on his hand and allowed him to be the one to lead me around. We passed through a dirt hallway that was lit up from the moon and I was to see in front of me briefly. Once we were out of it, I had to rely on his vampire sense to get through the darkness and I was ready to just throw caution to the wind when we turned a corner into a another hallway with moonlight shinning down at the beginning of it when both Damon and I were stopped by something that froze us both down to our bones.

"Don't come any closer. There's a spell on this part of the tomb. If you pass through then you will be trapped." It was the voice that I had been hearing since the day I arrived. It was actually here in this tomb under this old church. I never would have thought that the first place I looked would be the very place where I would find it.

"Holy shit I heard that. Was that the voice you heard?" Damon asked me and I nodded, my mouth falling open in shock and he must have seen that because I felt his hand on my face, pulling it in his direction. "Allison, what's wrong? You've gone cold."

"That's because I know who it is." I whispered, pulling my face away and staring into the corridor where the only light was the spot of moonlight just 2 feet in front of us. I moved away from Damon, my fingers releasing themselves from his hand as my heart pounded wildly against my chest. I shuffled forward, listening to the footsteps on the other side of the darkness and I felt a coldness enter my stomach as the realization started dawning on me. I wasn't lying to Damon when I said I knew who the voice belonged to, because I did know. For so long it had been distorted and unrecognizable but I guess that was just because it was trapped down here. Now that I was standing in the same place and it spoke, it was perfectly clear and I knew exactly who it belonged to and I just couldn't believe my ears. But even more then that, I couldn't believe what I saw appearing out of the shadows. A transparent figure was making it's way the edge of the moonlight and pausing at the space where the light separated us. I heard Damon draw in a sharp breath, knowing that it was because he was seeing the image and not because he knew who it was. But me on the other hand, I struggled to breathe because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was so real that I wanted to reach out and touch it, but I didn't. Instead I opened my mouth and with one shaky word I said it out loud.

"Godric, it's you."

**A/n: and there you have it...the mystery voice belong to our beloved godric...sorry for the hold out but it was necessary for the sake of the story...but now it is here and i cant to see what you think of it**


	11. You found me

**Chapter 11 You found me**

"Oh my god it's really you." I gasped, my hand slapping over my mouth the moment I had spoken. My eyes traveled down to the floor where they landed on his transparent feet and then came back up again just to make sure he was really there in front of me. He was in the very same white clothes he had been wearing when he appeared to me in my visions and he wore the same gentle expression that had been present when we last parted. It really was Godric. As much as it was hard to believe, the truth was right in front of my face and even Damon could see him. Godric was so close that I could have reached out and touched him, that is if he wasn't transparent. But I remembered his warning about passing through that part of the hallway and I held back. I lifted my head all the way and met his eyes and saw that he was staring right back at me. Holy shit, this was for real. That realization took all the strength out of my legs as everything hit me at once and I started falling to the floor. I would have hit the dirt ground had it not been for a pair of arms that caught me and held me up against a cold hard chest.

"Can you please not pass out right now?" Damon asked, setting me up on my feet and holding his hands on my shoulders to steady me as I tried to regain my balance. Once I felt like my body was able to handle itself again, I nodded up at him and he released me, stepping back to the wall and turned to face Godric the same time I did. Damon looked at me and there was enough light in the tomb for me to see the doubtful look on his face. "You know him?"

"That's Godric. He is, or he was, Eric's maker." I struggled to even make sense of what I was saying. I didn't even know what the heck was going on. I wasn't expecting the voice to belong to Godric. I shot my head back to the transparent image and blinked a few times in case there was any chance that it was just a dream. But he was there every time I opened my eyes and finally I had to ask straight out what was going on. "Godric, is this real or am I just imagining it?"

"Oh it is very real. I may be transparent, but your mind is not making this up." He answered back, his voice as kind and tender as it had been when he first spoke to me. I watched him as he raised his arms and tucked his hands under them and started pacing slowly back forth the width of the hall. "I called you here."

"How is that even possible? You're dead. You met the sun last year, Sookie saw it happen." I stumbled over my words as I tried to get them out coherently. This was totally turning my head to mush and I didn't if I could trust what I was seeing. I looked back at Damon and he too was looking at Godric and if Damon could also see the fallen vampire, then this had to be real. We couldn't both be that crazy to be seeing the exact same thing. "You can't possibly be real."

"But I am" Godric answered back, his pacing stopping for the time being and he turned to face Damon and I as we looked at each other. Godric sighed heavily from his side of the hallway and said. "I'm here aren't I?"

"But that morning on the roof...Sookie saw you burn. She saw you die." I sputtered, turning to look at Damon and grabbed his arm tightly. "My cousin watched him meet the sun. He's supposed to be dead. But you're seeing him too, right?"

"Uh, surprisingly yea." Damon frowned, tilting his head to the side to glance at Godric again. "And he's the maker of your ex boyfriend?"

"Yes." I replied, swallowing hard before letting him go and stepping back. I looked at the ghostly figure in front of us, my eyes never shrinking from their wide position as I just studied him. I had only ever seen his image when I had been unconscious and never when I was actually awake. So it was hard for me to gasp what I was looking at, but the longer I stood there and the more I just watched him, the more it was dawning at me that this wasn't a joke. Godric had been the voice that had been speaking to me since I arrived here. And I had to just accept that if I wanted answers. "You really are here."

"I am." Godric nodded, his young face looking more relaxed and he dropped his hands down to his side. Before he spoke again. "I called you here for a reason. And I'm so glad you finally found me."

"Why did you call me here in the first place if you are dead?" I asked, clutching my arms around myself to stay calm.

"Simple. I needed your help." He said, his face holding a solemn expression as we locked eyes together.

"Why?" I felt myself tighten up as I awaited his answer, not knowing what was in store but when he spoke, I was startled by what came out of his mouth.

"Because I'm not really dead."

* * *

_10 minutes later_

"What do you mean that you're not really dead?"

Godric watched the young girl as she stood there just two feet away from him and he almost wished he had never brought this down upon her. She looked torn between disbelief and utter shock and it was so apparent that this bit of news had shaken her up so much that she looked like she was going to collapse again. But she didn't, she remained on her feet and just looked at him like she was half expecting him to just disappear. And that wasn't going to happen. He couldn't disappear into thin air and he couldn't just walk out passed her. It was impossible, at least for now it was. He had a lot of explaining to do in order for this to all make sense and to get her to believe that this was no joke. He had spent enough time in this tomb and it was the moment to tell the truth about why he was here.

"Godric?" Allison's quiet little voice called out to him, breaking into his cloud of thoughts to bring him back to the present. He focused his eyes on her face and found it unchanged since the way he had last seen her in that church just weeks ago. Except now there was an extremely sadness lurking in the depths of her eyes that he understood the meaning behind very clearly. "Godric, what do you mean you're not dead?"

"Just that. I'm not dead. I'm alive." He told her, motioning down to his transparent body and said. "This image that you are seeing is my soul. My soul was ripped apart from my body the second it started burning that morning. My body died, but my soul did not. So I am still very much alive."

"Oh god." Allison's hand came up to cover her mouth and for a minute she didn't make the tiniest sound at all. In fact, the only sound that did fill the air came from the footsteps of the other vampire slipping away to give them the moment alone. The second he left, Allison met his eyes again and dropped her hand. "You really are alive aren't you?"

"Very much, just without a body." He responded with a sigh, watching her go over to the wall and lean against it only to slide down to the floor in a heap. He took a spot on the same end on his side and sat down with his legs folded underneath him as he looked at her. "I know this is a lot to take in and if you don't wish for me to continue..."

"No I want you to tell me what happened. I need to understand all of this. I've been trying to figure out why I am hearing weird voices and having all these strange pulls to a town I have never heard of. I assume that was all you?" She asked, turning her young face in his direction as her long hair tumbled over her shoulder and he briefly caught sight of the old fang marks on her skin, Eric's doing obviously.

"Yes, I knew that if I could appear to you in visions then I could probably do more then just send messages. I could send feelings as well. And that's what I did." He said, watching for her reaction and was pleased when he saw the look of understanding in her eyes. "When I realized that you were leaving home for a new place, I knew I had to do something to insure that you would come here. So when you were reading that map and your eyes landed on Mystic Falls, I was able to give you a sense that this was the place you needed to go to. And the moment you arrived, those feelings only got stronger because we were now in the same place."

"I knew it was odd that I felt such a pull to this place." She exclaimed, her face briefly lighting up. "But I never once thought it could be connected to something like this."

"If I frightened you with my actions then I apologize, it was never my intention to make you scared." Godric let her know, knowing that the way he went about things was probably not the best idea he ever had but there was no other way around it. "But I promise to explain everything fully if you wish to hear it."

"Please do. I want to know so badly." She assured him, nodding her head before drawing her legs up close to her body and setting her chin on her knees. "How did this happen to you?"

"I know you know enough about our world to know that vampire blood is very sacred and that it is highly sought after by humans and werewolves. But it was also craved by witches and that's how this whole saga began. With one witch who so desperately looked for the most intoxicating vampire blood she could find. It was a witch who did this to me."

"I fucking hate witches." She muttered quietly but he caught it and it made him chuckle.

"Not all witches are alike, just like not all vampire are alike. The same goes for humans and other supernaturals. You can't judge an entire group based on the actions of certain individuals." He pointed out to her calmly, and even though he struggled with his feelings about that statement, he still stood by it because it was true. "But that's not what I called you here to talk about. I want to tell you my story and it starts, not in Dallas when I tried to meet the sun, but a few years back before any of our lives ever encountered each other."

"Ok. Go ahead. Talk." She nodded for him to begin his story, sitting back against the wall with her big green eyes staring at him in wonder. He himself was still amazed at what had happened even now as he began to relive it out loud.

"As I said, a few years back, before any of our lives intersected, I came across a witch who was seeking vampire blood. And not just any vampire blood, it was my blood she was after. She had found out how old I was and the idea of having the blood of a 2,000 year old vampire was very appealing to her. So she sought me out and demanded I supply her and her coven with it. I refused of course, knowing the chaos that vampire blood can do to a witch. And she did not take too kindly to my refusal. In fact, she cursed me."

"Cursed you?" Allison asked, her mouth dropping open in surprise as he bobbed his head up and down.

"Yes, she put a curse on my soul but I did not know the extent of it until I tried to meet the sun in Dallas last year. When I tried to rid myself of this world, I thought I would be able to leave it without trouble. But somehow the witch knew of my desire to be no more, and she made sure that the curse she put on me would prevent me from what I wanted just as I denied her what she wanted. And it did. You see when I tried to kill myself, my soul ripped apart from my body and sent into hiding. So although it looks liked I was being destroyed by the sun, in actuality, a part of me was still alive. The most important part, the soul,was still intact and therefore I couldn't truly die. It was an act of revenge for my refusal to give her my valuable blood. She cursed me so I couldn't pass on peacefully since that was one thing I wanted above all else. My soul was doomed to be trapped in this tomb for all eternity until someone came to rescue me. And the witch didn't count on me being able to reach and contact those who I felt were closest to me."

"Eric and me." She nodded, her face showing the pain of saying his child's name and he made a mental note to bring that up to his progeny, should he ever be released from this tomb. Allison sighed heavily, her small hands running through her long hair as she looked at him, "And there was no way for you to escape even if you are just the soul part of yourself?"

"If it were that easy then I would have done it but I know enough about witches and dark curses to understand why I can't just walk out of here on my own It's more complicated then that." He told her, clasping his transparent hands together. "The curse on my soul keeps me trapped here in this part of the tomb because I cannot yet take physical form. And until my body is rebuilt and I am whole again, I am stuck here."

"I am so sorry I didn't find you sooner." She apologized, her head dropping down to look at the ground in shame and he wished he could reach out and touch her but he knew he couldn't. He watched her shrug her delicate shoulders and say "To think, you were trapped in here for so long by yourself..."

"I wasn't always by myself. I was able to appear to you if you recall." He reminded her, amused when her head shot up and her eyes had grown wide as saucers again. "And Eric of course, as he told you."

"He did tell me." She confirmed and he saw that she had clenched her hands into fists at the mention of his child's name before she relaxed and asked. "Why couldn't you ask Eric to help you? He would have jumped at the chance if he knew that you were still alive."

"Eric, although loyal to the very end, would not be able to keep his temper in check long enough to get the job done. Even for me. And I know that. Which is why I sought you out. You were the one leaving the area and I saw how much you need to be away for a certain amount of time. And besides, Eric would not have been able to see me or hear me. The witch made sure to cut off any ability to know I was here to my progeny should he have come across this tomb by chance. But you, my dear were the next best thing. And I had to reach out to you. So I sent you that pull to Mystic Falls and I sent my voice out hoping both would reach you and they did. And that in turn leads up to this moment in time."

"Yea I guess it does."

* * *

_15 minutes later_

"You'll have to give me a second here. This is a lot to take in." I told Godric a while later as I sat there on the cold dirt floor and just stared at my feet stretched out in front of me. "I'm just a little shaken up."

"I understand. Take all the time you need." Godric informed me, sitting back in his spot on the other side of the space that separated us and he fell silent as I thought back to everything I had just learned and struggled to process it all.

The idea that Godric was still technically alive even after Sookie had described his death was just way too impossible to believe. Nothing like this could happen. No one could cheat death like this. There was no way, just no way. When you died, you died and that was it. You were gone, you were no more. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be a matter of your soul being separated from your body and therefore you could still be kept alive. No one could rise from the dead. Not even vampires. Godric was supposed to be dead. He should have been dead. He had gone out on that rooftop that morning before the sun rose to do just that, to die. But he hadn't. At least not like everyone thought. But that's what they saw, or that's what Sookie saw. I never wanted to remember her describing his suicide because it was too painful and I didn't want Eric to pick up on my pain. But it was the truth that told us all that Godric was no longer there. Eric's grief was proof of that. He had lost his maker and his best friend and he had never been able to even think about overcoming the grief. Even though we never talked about Godric, I knew how much anguish he still carried around that he would never talk about with me or anymore. And as much as Eric had hurt me with his conflicting feelings about who he loved, I never wanted to see him in pain. Even now with...

"You asshole!" The words came flying out of my mouth without me even realizing I had been thinking about them. I jumped to my feet in a fury, watching as Godric peered up at with confusion written in his features. "How could you do that?"

"Do what?" He questioned, standing up on his side and staring me straight in the eye.

"How could you do that to Eric?" I snapped at him, wishing I could stomp right on through that moon light and slap my hand across his face. But I actually took a step back so I wouldn't do that. "How could you let him think you were dead?"

"I had my reasons..."

"No. There is no reason for keeping this hidden from him. No reason at all. If you could appear in a vision to me or you could appear to Eric, then why didn't you tell us you were alive?" I demanded, my voice rising higher then I intended it too and I could hear the murmur of voices on the grounds above and I knew that Damon was still up there, most likely with Stefan and they were probably listening to every word and relaying it back to Bonnie and Elena but I didn't care. I was so furious that I was practically seeing red. "You could have explained all this to one of us when you appeared but you didn't. You kept it to yourself. How could you?"

"It wasn't my intention to..."Godric tried to cut in but I wouldn't allow him to do so.

"I don't care what your intentions were. They don't matter because what you did was selfish and mean and just plain cruel." I shouted at his calm, pale face just as my eyes started filling with tears and I blinked a few times but they still fell anyway. I wiped them away but they just kept coming. "How could you do that to him? I mean, it's Eric. He's your child. You were together for 1,000 years and you just let him think you were dead and gone for the past year. Who does that?"

"Allison please let me..."

"I always heard all these great things about you from Sookie and Pam but never Eric. And you want to know why it was never from Eric? Do you?" I screamed, my voice scratched my throat from the force of how hard I was pushing these words out. "Because it was too painful for him to talk about it. Thinking you were dead destroyed him and you let him suffer through all that pain."

"You don't understand..."

"You saw him Godric. You saw him mourning you and you did nothing to fix that. Why?" I asked, tears streaming down my face as I looked at the vampire who had caused Eric so much pain and grief over the past year. Even if Eric never talked about it, I saw it in his eyes and I was furious and saddened to know this could have been prevented. "Why would you keep the fact that you were alive to yourself? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I was punishing myself for what I had done." Godric replied when I finally gave him enough time to speak and his answer startled me. He glanced at me, his eyes meeting mine with such shame that my anger started disappearing when he talked. "I wanted to suffer alone here as a form of punishment for the involvement I had with the Fellowship of the Sun a year ago. My role was meant to set an example out of me. But it ended up putting everyone's life in danger, including Eric's."

"And you felt guilty." I finished for him and he nodded. "Even when you thought you were dying, you still carried it with you."

"I will never truly forgive myself for putting my child's life in danger. There is no excuse for that." Godric sighed, his transparent eyes glazing over in thought briefly before focusing on me again. "But these last few months have given me more then enough time to think about what I had done and it has made me wish I could have gone back and changed my actions but I can't. And even with that regret, it has made me realize that my death wasn't going to change a thing. The only way for me to change how the world looks at vampires is to actually be a part of it. So that's why I started reaching out to you and dropping hints in the hopes that you would come here."

"Oh Godric." I whispered, feeling myself overcome with tears again.

"I'm sorry for all the pain my decisions have cost everyone. And if I ever get out of here,I will return to Shreveport and seek Eric's forgiveness. But right now, my focus is on you and if you would be willing to help me?"

"With what?" I asked, looking at him and saw his calm expression replaced with a more serious one.

"I need you to help resurrect me."

_

* * *

_

_45 minutes later_

"You're quiet." Damon pointed out to the girl walking beside him down the hallway of her apartment building and he watched as she simply shrugged and looked at him.

"Just thinking about Godric and everything he told me tonight." Allison answered, running her hands through her hair. "I don't know what to even think."

"It was a lot to find out." Damon agreed, putting aside his temper and pride for a moment to actually behave himself and if there was ever a moment for him to do that then this was it.

Damon himself couldn't believe half the stuff he and Stefan had listened in on from the grounds above the tomb. He could have stayed down there with Allie while she talked to Godric but he chose to give her privacy since she knew this ghostly figure and joined his brother and the other two girls at the top to hear everything. And man that was a lot to digest. He couldn't believe he had heard what he had heard and neither could Stefan or the girls when they told them what was being said down below, but it made sense in it's own bizarre way. The witch, the cursed soul, the voice, the feelings. It all fit. And Allison had come out of the tomb barely able to form a single sentence. So it was him who said that Stefan remain with Elena and Bonnie while he took Allison home. And that's what lead him to be walking her to her apartment this late at night.

"Do you think it's crazy that I agreed to help him?" She asked, stopping him outside her door by putting her hand on his arm.

"Crazy, yes. Wrong? Not at all." He told her honestly. And that was the truth. It was just the type of thing he would agree to. Something that was considered impossible but that was going to try and be accomplished anyway was definitely up his alley and he would have said yes as well. "I think it is kind of kick ass."

"You would say that." She laughed, crossing her arms and leaned against the wall looking at him. "And I have to say I am surprised you are even talking to me. Considering the last time we were here, you were punching a hole in the wall and storming off."

"Yea, sorry about that." He begrudgingly apologized,knowing that he was in the wrong and he should cop up to it even if it killed him. "I shouldn't have gotten so pissed."

"It's fine. Don't even worry about it. There are bigger things occupying my mind now rather then your temper tantrums." She teased, sending a smile his way before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her keys and slipping one into the lock and opening the door. She paused to look back at him and then before he could move, she stepped up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders and stood up on her toes and pressed her warm lips against his cheek. This action was so surprising to him that he didn't react and just watched as she pulled back and walked into the apartment. "Good night night Damon."

Damon couldn't even say one word as she left him alone in that hallway.

**A/n: yes, i am bringing godric back to life...i hope you like the idea and if you don't well then tough...this was the point of this second fic and now i will take the time to announce that there will be a 3rd...but that wont happen for a while...so enjoy this ride and please review**


	12. Can't help you now

**Chapter 12 Can't help you now**

"What is with the look on your face? You've had that same expression for the past 48 hours and I know I said I wouldn't be so pushy, but I just can't help it. I need to know what you are thinking about." Elena said to Allison as the two girls lounged across the bed in Allison's room and flipped through a stack of magazines. But it was if Allison wasn't even present because not only was she completely quiet, but she was turning the pages without even really looking at the content. And Elena had tried to keep her questions to a minimum, considering she knew Allie had a lot to think about with the whole Godric thing, but after 2 days of not saying anything, Elena could no longer keep quiet and had to ask.

"I'm thinking about the only thing I could possibly be thinking about." Allison replied, closing the magazine and rolling on her side with her long hair pulled over one shoulder. She set her face against her fist and sighed. "Godric."

"I figured you were but I didn't want to keep on bothering you." Elena admitted, sitting up and tucking her legs underneath her. "Are you trying to figure out how to help him?"

"Of course I am." The older girl insisted, nodding her head quickly. "I don't want him to be stuck there any longer then he has to be. It's not fair."

"Is he really that good of a vampire?" Elena wanted to know. She was honestly curious because the way Allison explained her history and knowledge of Godric and the way she just generally talked about him, it made Godric sound like a saint.

"Well, he's 2,000 years old and I'm sure at some point he didn't have the best track record." Allison told her, pressing her lips together tensely. "But from what I gathered from Sookie and Bill and especially from Eric, Godric is so radically different then how he used to be when he was first turned."

"He seemed to be about as human as a vampire can get." Elena pointed out, thinking how this incredibly old immortal was so polar opposite from Damon and even Stefan. He didn't seem to even have the smallest violent bone in his body. But then again, she didn't know him and he was trapped in the tomb so his temper remained to be seen. "So what are you thinking would be the right way to help him?"

"I don't really know." Allison sighed, sitting up and combed her fingers through the knots in her hair. "I mean, I tried doing some research on my own but this kind of thing seems to be unheard of. I don't think anyone has ever thought it was possible to resurrect someone. But it has to be a possibility if a witch was able to prevent him from passing on peacefully. I just don't know where to even look now."

"What about calling home?" Elena suggested with a bright smile. "Maybe your cousin or her fiancee would know something."

"No, contacting the people from my old life is not an option." Allison shook her head, her face a blank mask but her eyes told a different story. There was a brief moment where Elena could swear that Allison looked like she was about to cry but then it was gone and Allison was back to pushing the subject matter away. "I'm not telling them anything about this Godric situation until there is something to definitely tell."

"What do you mean?" Elena frowned, not understanding the problem. If the situation were reversed, Elena would be asking and telling everyone she knew about what was going on. So why didn't Allie want to do the same?

"It's not that I am trying to hide it from them because I'm not. But I don't want to tell them what is happening and risk getting their hopes up if it turns out nothing can be done about it." Allison explained, sitting back against the pile of pillows and crossed her arms over herself. "I mean, if I were to call and tell them that Eric's maker is stuck in a tomb and is still technically alive they would get so up in arms about it, especially Eric. And if it comes down to the fact that nothing can be done to help Godric, then Eric is going to be so destroyed. So it's better not to say anything at all until I know I can really resurrect Godric."

"You seem to have Eric on your mind as well. You mentioned him like 3 times." Elena pointed out to her friend, watching as she saw the effect it had on the older girl. "Are you still clinging to him?"

"No, I'm only thinking about him because I have no other choice. Godric made Eric into a vampire, so it's impossible to think of Godric without also thinking of Eric. That's all there is to it." Allison retorted, averting her eyes down to the bed as she traced a circle on the comforter with her finger. "But I really want to focus on how to help Godric. There has to be a way. If the witch could stop him from dying, then there has to be some way to bring him back to his original form."

"But how?" Elena frowned, biting down on her lip as she thought about it. "I didn't know it was possible to bring any one back from the dead, let alone a vampire."

"I didn't either, but I guess you can never assume something is how it seems. Especially with all these supernatural creatures coming out of the woodwork that we never thought existed before." Allison tapped her fingers on her chin. "If that stuff is possible, then bringing someone back from the dead because of a curse could be possible."

"I just wish we knew what we could do." Elena mumbled, pressing her fingers to her temples. "We need some kind of direction..."

"Wait! I got it!" Allison exclaimed, shooting up in a straight sitting position and clenched her hands into tight little fists. "Bonnie!"

"What about her?" Elena watched Allison's face light up in excitement.

"Think about it. A witch put a curse on Godric's soul and Bonnie is a witch so maybe she can help break the curse." Allie threw her arms in the air, triumph written in her face at finally figuring out a course of action. "Do you think she would be willing to help?"

"I don't know, she might." Elena shrugged smiling at Allie's upbeat energy expelling from her eyes. "I can ask her if you want."

"Would you really? That would be great." Allison nodded and the threw herself down on the bed on her back and tucked her hands behind her head. "Oh man, if Bonnie says yes then Godric can be out of that tomb by tonight. I just hope she says yes."

"I think there is a good chance of that happening."

* * *

_Later that afternoon_

"Well isn't this a surprise."

"Hey Godric." I said with a bright smile as I turned the corner inside the tomb and came to a stop when I saw him standing in the shadows right before a ray of sun shinned down into the dirt corridor and separated the two of us. His face twisted into a smile when our eyes met and I couldn't help but grin back. He seemed to have this positivity radiating from him and I found myself starting to feed onto that whenever I was around him. I knew coming here to speak to him was the right choice and that was why I had left work as soon as my shift had ended so I could discuss with him what could specifically be done to help him. I dropped my bag on the floor and shut off the flashlight I had brought with me and turned my focus on his transparent face. "How are you doing?"

"As well as can be expected." He replied, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at me. "I assume you came here for a specific reason."

"You get right down to the point don't you?" I laughed, grinning while I lowered myself to the ground and crossed my legs, taking care not to pass any part of my body through the sun between us. I didn't know what would happen if I was to pass through to Godric's side, but he did mention that I could be trapped and I would never want that. So I was careful with how I moved and where I placed myself. I looked at him when I was settled and asked "So I've been going over it in my head and I'm not completely sure how I am supposed to do what you asked of me."

"You doubted it was possible didn't you?" Godric questioned with a sly smile as he too sat down on the dirt ground and set his hands on his knees, almost as if he were meditating. "I don't blame you. Not many, if there are even any at all, believe that you can resurrect someone. But it is possible. It's rare, but possible."

"I did think that at first but then I realized that if vampires and werewolves and shifters can exist when we didn't think so, then anything can be possible." I told him, twisting my hair around my fingers as I spoke. "So..how am I am supposed to do this? How am I supposed to bring you back?"

"It could very simple as finding another witch who would be willing to break the curse. As soon as the curse is broken, my body would begin to regenerate and I would be able to walk out of here as solid and real as the morning I tried to take my own life." He explained, his eyes filling with shame as he appeared to be remembering his actions from last year. "It's something I had heard whispers about in my 2,000 years."

"I'm already on it." I assured him, tucking my hair back behind my shoulders. "That girl Bonnie that I told you about is a witch and Elena and I talked this morning and since she and Bonnie are close, Elena agreed to ask her if she would be willing to help."

"Don't get your hopes up." Godric warned me, his face taking on a much more serious expression then I had ever seen him wear. "Not every witch is going to want to put in the energy to try and break another witch's curse. It's a highly complicated matter and I just want you to prepare yourself for the possibility that it may not work out."

"No need to worry. I won't fail." I told him, certain that I would be able to convince Bonnie to lift the curse. She was a compassionate person and would understand why I needed her to do this. But I did stay logical and remember what Godric said about it may not work out. "And if Bonnie can't do it, there are other ways right?"

"There are always other ways." Godric agreed, his eyes holding a far away look. "But having a witch release me is the easiest and fastest way."

"It will happen, I just know it will." I said and then I dusted off my clothes before standing up and looking at the transparent vampire. "I'm sorry I have to leave so quickly but I have a mission to get to and other things to do."

"It's perfectly alright. Go, go live your life. I'll be waiting here for you." Godric waved goodbye to me as I began walking towards the opening of the hallway to leave him behind. I was fumbling in my bag for my flashlight when I heard Godric clear his throat and say. "Allison? I have one more thing to ask."

"Ok." I turned back around and leaned against the wall to see that he too had stood up and was now staring at me with a questioning look in his ghostly features. "What is it?"

"Why are you doing this for me?" He asked, his question taking me by surprise so much that my arms dropped down to my side and I frowned.

"Why would you ask me that?" I wanted to know, crossing my arms over myself as I watched him. "Why wouldn't I help you?"

"It's just that..other then the few times I appeared to you when you were unconscious, we are pretty much just strangers to each other." He explained, his dark eyes studying me closely. "And strangers, especially humans and vampires, don't just do favors like this for no reason."

"Maybe I am just a nice person who is trying to repay you for keeping me going when I really needed it." I offered, knowing deep down that my answer was so not completely true but I was not about to vocalize it. I would stomp down on the truth until it went away but until it did, I would give Godric another reason. "I'm just trying to do a nice thing."

"I don't doubt that because I see how genuine and pure your intentions are." He told me with a smile. "But I also see something in your eyes that tells me there is another possible reason you are doing this."

"Godric, there is no other reason other then you are my friend and I want to help you."

* * *

_That night_

"Bonnie, we need to talk right now." Elena said to her friend as she caught up with the dark haired girl who was walking down the sidewalk and wrapped her hand around Bonnie's arm and pulled her to a stop by an empty bench and sat them both down before asking. "Can you spare just a few minutes?"

"Well, you are my best friend so take as much time as you need." Bonnie smiled, setting her bag down between them and crossed her legs at the ankle before setting her arm on the back of the bench and asked. "So what did you pull me aside for?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could do me a favor. Like a really big favor." Elena stated, practically stumbling over her words in her eagerness to get it out. "I know I probably shouldn't be asking you for anything like..."

"Elena, you and I have been friends since we were little girls." Bonnie exclaimed with a laugh, touching her hand to Elena's arm. "There is nothing you can't ask me to do for you. We're like sisters. I will do anything you need me to do."

"Ok, it's good to know that because what I have to ask is pretty intense. So just consider it before you give me an answer." Elena said, clasping her hands together as she looked at her oldest friend and sighed. It was going to be hard to ask this of Bonnie because it would require the witch to draw on all her power to make it happen but as much as it would take out of her, Elena knew Bonnie was understanding and there was no way she would refuse the request. "I was wondering if you would do a spell to break the curse on Godric so he could be released and..."

"No!" Bonnie snapped, her previously calm and bright face had taken a shift into a tight and angry face. She immediately began shaking her head and waving her hands to get her point across. "No no no no. I won't do it. Absolutely not."

"What? Why not?" Elena demanded, feeling like she had just been slapped in the face. Bonnie was saying no? After Elena had barely gotten the question out? It didn't make sense. "Allison wants to help Godric and the way to do that would be to have another witch break the curse. It would mean the world to her for you to do that."

"Did you not hear me?" Bonnie frowned, standing up with her hands on her hips as she looked down at Elena. "I will not do this."

"But why?" Elena asked, getting to her feet to face her friend. "Why won't you just do this tiny little favor for Allison?"

"Because it's not a tiny thing, it's a big thing and I don't want any part of it." Bonnie shouted, grabbing her bag in her fist and throwing it over her shoulder. "I refuse to do this. I don't want to get involved in releasing any more vampires from that god damn tomb. Especially since the results were fatal last time. I don't care if you try to do it at all, but I will not have a role in this. So don't ask me."

Elena couldn't even form a response as she watched her best friend stomp away in fury and she wondered how on earth she was going to break the news to Allie who was depending so much on Bonnie's help.

* * *

_Later that night_

"Allison! Wait up. We need to talk right away." Bonnie's voice called from across the street and I turned around in my spot to see her making her way towards me rapidly and I stopped walking to give her a chance to catch up.

I smiled when I saw the expression on her face. It was one of seriousness mixed in with apprehension that I could only guess where it had come from. Elena must have talked to her about the Godric situation and that's why she was rushing to come and talk to me. I felt a ball of excitement fill up in my stomach as I watched her cross the street. I didn't think that a decision could come around this quickly since it was only that morning that Elena and I were discussing how I was supposed to help Godric. But without even reading Bonnie's mind I could tell that she was coming to talk about Godric and I couldn't be happier. This was going to be amazing. Bonnie was going to agree to release Godric and he could be out of that tomb before the night was over! I never even dreamed that it could happen like that. After all this time of thinking Godric was dead only to find out that he was trapped inside the tomb, waiting for someone to come and help him, he was going to be able to rejoin the world. Heck, forget joining the world. Godric could return to Louisiana and go back to Eric. Oh the reunion those two would have. It was going to mean so much to be able to repay Godric like that after what he had done for me when I was in my darkest hour.

"Hey Bonnie." I greeted the younger girl with a smile as she finally caught up to me and came to a stop with her hands on her hips and her hair falling over her shoulders. "What's going on?"

"I just talked to Elena an hour ago." She said, her dark eyes showing no sign of what she was going to say but I already knew what she wanted to tell me. I just had that good of a feeling. She looked at me with a small smile. "And we talked about Godric and the whole curse thing and..."

"I just want you to know how much I appreciate you doing this. It would be mean so much to me to have Godric get released from that damn prison and be able to rejoin our world again. And it wouldn't just be me that would be thankful. Do you know how many other people would be affected by this? Everyone I know back home would be so moved and touched by this. They all believe it is impossible to resurrect someone but you're going to be able to do it and it will blow them all away...and why are you looking at me like that?" My rambles came to a sudden halt when I saw the look in Bonnie's eyes and it made me instantly stop talking because of how serious she looked. It was almost as if she were...

"Allison, I can't do it. I can't release Godric." She blurted out, her words hitting me like icicles in the chest and I couldn't stop my mouth from falling open in shock as she rushed to explain her reasoning behind the decision. "The last time I helped release vampires from that tomb I had my grandmother help me and she died because of the stress. Now that wont happen to me because I am a young witch, but I still won't do it because I do not want any more vampires running around this place then there already are."

"But...but..." I tried to find words to accurately express how I was feeling but nothing seemed to fit and I was forced to just go with the obvious. "But Godric isn't like other vampires. He's a good person and he wouldn't do anything bad once you broke the curse. I am certain of that."

"You may be certain, but I'm not." Bonnie retorted, crossing her arms tightly and she narrowed her eyes. "And I know you were counting on me to help you but I can't do it. I cannot use my powers to bring a vampire back to life. I'm sorry but my answer is no."

"You can't be serious." I hissed, already feeling tears starting to pool in the corner of my eyes and I knew any second now they would be falling. But my expression seemed to have no effect on Bonnie's decision. She stood there in front of me with a determined look on her face and I knew the hope of changing her mind wasn't going to stick around. "Are you serious? You won't help me?"

"No. I can't and I won't." Bonnie shook her head as she began backing away from me. "You have to find some other way to release Godric because it won't be me."

"I cannot believe this." I whispered out loud as I watched the witch walk away and leave me alone in the middle of the town square with a pain in my chest and tears in my eyes. She had said no. She refused to help me. She was my only hope to release Godric and now that hope was gone. Godric would be stuck in that tomb until I could figure out another way to help him. I felt so bad. I had just promised him this afternoon that I would be able to get Bonnie to break the curse and now my option was back to nothing. I had failed Godric and I didn't know what else to do.


	13. Take a bite of me

**Chapter 13 Take a bite of me**

"Girl, do you know how hard you are to get a hold of?"

"Sookie, I haven't suddenly gone deaf. I can hear you perfectly fine." I told my cousin as I strolled down the nearly empty sidewalk the next afternoon with my cell phone attached to my ear. Sookie had called me just moments ago as I had slipped out of my apartment to go for a walk to clear my head. I had barely gotten down the stairs and out the door before my phone started buzzing in my pocket and I saw that it was her. I hadn't talked to her in days because frankly, I had just forgotten. I had so many other things on my mind and remembering to stay in touch with my cousin was not top priority right now. But here she was and even though I had forgotten to call, I was still happy to hear from her. "It's good to hear your voice."

"Same here, you sound so much better then the first time I talked to you after the move." Sookie commented, the happiness evident in her words and I knew she meant what she said. I had been feeling less sad as the days wore on and it was good that others were starting to notice.

"I definitely am starting to move past my sadness." I agreed, sitting down on a bench in the middle of the town square and looked around the area. It was virtually empty because it was the middle of the day and most people were at work or at school. "I think it's because I am really starting to settle into a routine here."

"That's good. That's really good." My cousin said earnestly and I could practically envision her twisting the phone cord around her fingers as she talked to me. "So work is going well?"

"Extremely well. I like my boss and I like working in a bar again. I mean, it's not Merlotte's but it's familiar territory." I smiled at the thoughts that were brought to mind when I was talking about my job. It was true that I liked working at the Grill, but it would never be the same as when I worked for Sam. That time in my life was special and even working in another bar wasn't going to be the same. "How is Sam? What has he been up to?"

"He's stressed, as usual." Sookie replied, an underlining smirk in her voice. "There was a problem in the kitchen when Lafayette accidentally started a small fire but that was put out and the damages were minimal but you know Sam, he makes something a bigger deal then it has to be. But other then that he is good."

"That's good. I'm glad he is doing well." I stated, nodding my head even though she couldn't see it. "I miss him."

"He'll be thrilled to hear that." Sookie chuckled loudly. "He's been missing you a lot. I don't think a day goes by without him mentioning you."

"If he misses me so much then why doesn't he just pick up the phone and call? I gave you the number for the land line in my apartment and I know you passed it on to certain people, including Sam. Not to mention he also has my cell phone number." I told her, resisting the urge to laugh at my old friend's hesitation to call me. "He should just call if he is missing me."

"I think he is just trying to respect your wishes and keeping his distance so you don't have too much of your old life appearing in your new one." She explained, sighing slightly. "He understands how much you needed to get away from anything having to do with Bon Temps and he is just being a good friend."

"He can still call me if he wants to. I would love to hear from him. That wouldn't be a bad thing at all." I said, propping my elbow up on the back of the bench and leaned my head against it. "Besides you and Bill, Sam is the one other person from my old life that I would want to hear from."

"I will pass that along then." Sookie agreed and I could hear her moving around on the other end of the line before she settled and said "But since you mentioned Bill, I have some good news."

"Let me guess, it is about the wedding right?" I asked, smirking when I heard her gasp and I said. "You were adding little details about it in every email yo u sent me."

"Well there was a big development that I haven't mentioned and I want to tell you now." Sookie gushed, the excitement filling up in her voice. "Bill and I set a projected wedding date. We are going to marry in 3 months time. We just have to nail down a specific day, or more accurately night."

"Sookie, that is so awesome. I am happy for you guys." I exclaimed, sitting up straight with what was the most ridiculous grin on my face. "I can't wait for this wedding, it's going to be so beautiful."

"It will be and we still have other details to finish like about the dress and what you are going to wear but that will fall in place soon. I just wanted to tell you that it will only be a couple of more months before it happens." She said with a squeal. "You will be home for it right?"

"Well, I don't know if I will be moving back by then, but obviously I will be there for the wedding. That kind of goes without saying." I assured her as I pulled the elastic out of my hair and it tumbled down my back. "Don't worry, even when I first made plans to leave, I always intended to come back. And not just for the wedding. I will come home. Just not yet."

"I understand you need time. Trust me, if I were you I would have cut off everyone and just started my life from scratch." Sookie mumbled with a small sigh. "You know, I don't know if you want to hear this or not but Eric...he um...Eric..."

"What about Eric?" I found my face starting to tighten at the mention of my ex.

"He and I have been talking and I just want you to know that he doesn't want to be with me. He thought he did and that's why he said my name that morning but I've seen him over these past few weeks and he honestly has figured it all out. And I'm not the one he wants." Sookie replied, her voice turning to a more compassionate tone as she spoke to me. "He wants you Allie. He wants you and only you. And he is willing to do whatever it takes to make things right again."

"That's nice and all but I don't really want to hear about Eric right now. It's still too soon." I grumbled, closing my eyes and clenching my fists tightly. "Look Sookie, I need to go. I have things to do."

"No Allie, look I'm sorry for bringing it up. I won't mention it again..."

"I have to go. I'll talk to you later. Good bye Sookie." I said abruptly and the pressed the end call button and stuffed my phone back in my jacket pocket before I got up and started walking away.

* * *

_2 hours later_

"We need to talk. Right now." Elena demanded furiously, walking up to Bonnie who was sitting at a picnic table finishing her lunch and Elena dropped herself down on the bench beside her with a determined expression on her face and her arms crossed tightly. She had been waiting all day to corner her friend so they could talk but there hadn't been the right time until now. Lunch time seemed to always be the spot in the day where they had serious discussions and this was one of them. Which was why when Elena saw Bonnie out in the yard by herself, she jumped at the chance to get her attention. "Do you have a minute?"

"Yea I guess so." Bonnie nodded, crumbling up her brown paper bag and tossing it in a nearby trash can before turning to look in her direction. "You look serious."

"I am serious. Like really serious and I was hoping we could discuss that." Elena replied, easing up on the tightness she was holding herself with and dropped her arms down and settled her hands in her lap. "You probably won't like what I have to say and I don't want you to be mad at me."

"Elena, we have been friends forever and we're not always going to agree on everything but that doesn't mean you should be worried about bringing anything up to me despite how you think I will react. So just talk to me." Bonnie insisted, turning her body to face Elena. "Just say whatever you want to say."

"Alright, fine. I think you made a mistake when you refused to help Allison resurrect Godric." Elena blurted out, not bothering to hold back how angry her voice sounded because frankly, she didn't care if she sounded harsh. She was upset and she was going to let Bonnie know it. "You made your decision based on absolutely nothing. You don't know Godric, you know nothing about him except that he has ties to Allie's past. You don't know if releasing him will be a bad thing or not. But you should trust Allie when she says it will be a good thing. Because Allison is smart and she would not be trying to resurrect someone who she thought was a danger. Godric means something to her. That is her friend and he is trapped in that god damn tomb. And you refusing to help her bring him back is just mean and you know it."

"Are you finished?" Bonnie snapped, her eyes turning into tiny slits and there was an immense amount of anger there on her normally calm face. "Because I have something to say."

"Of course you do." Elena threw her hands up in the air. "Go ahead. Speak your mind."

"I get that you are upset over my choice. But you have no right to ever talk to me the way you just did." The young witch hissed at her, clenching her hands into tiny balls on the table top. "Me refusing to do a spell I don't believe in is not mean and it is certainly not wrong. I won't have you trying to make me feel guilty for it either."

"But it is wrong because your refusal is keeping an innocent person trapped in the dark and that is not fair." Elena shot back, reaching out and grabbing Bonnie's arm. "He's not like the other vampires you released last time. Letting him out won't be a mistake."

"I don't care." Bonnie exclaimed, ripping her arm away. "I don't care what kind of vampire he is. I don't care if he was a saint. I don't care if Godric is the nicest vampire that ever existed. I will not break the curse. I do not want to be involved in this. This is all on you. So do not ask me to change my mind."

"How can you sit and pretend to be a good person and not want to have anything to do with saving someone who is in trouble?" Elena questioned, seeing her childhood friend through new eyes and not liking it one bit. "How can you be so cruel?"

"I'm not cruel, I'm right and you just don't want to see it." Bonnie threw back, getting to her feet quickly. "And besides, Godric is not in trouble. He is just stuck there until someone lets him out. So he is not suffering. It's not like he is even really alive."

"Oh my god. I can't believe you just said that." Elena said quietly, averting her eyes away from the girl that she barely recognized anymore and instead stared at the grass by her feet. "You better leave before I get really angry."

"Already on it." Bonnie snapped before stomping away and leaving Elena in the yard alone with the wind whipping her hair across her face and causing tears to fall down her cheeks.

_

* * *

_

_That night_

"We need a favor from you. And we want you to listen to what we have to say without comment." Stefan told his brother later that night the moment he walked into the room where the darker haired vamp was lounging and nodded over his shoulder to Elena who had followed him inside the house and was responsible for the reason they were coming to talk to Damon. "Elena has something to ask you."

"Oh really?" Damon immediately swirled in the chair and brought his feet down to the floor with a big smirk on his face. "And what would that be? If it would be ok if she could join me and Allison for a three-some? Because if that is it then I am totally on board."

"Damon stop being a pervert!" Elena exclaimed, her mouth dropping open slightly from shock as she moved closer into the room. "I'm trying to be serious here."

"As am I." Damon nodded, his blue eyes lighting up mischievously. "Serious about that three-some."

"I should have known better then to expect you could ever be serious for anything." Stefan groaned, rubbing his hands down his face as he walked into the room and took a seat next to Elena on the couch and looked at his brother. "Even if it involves Allison."

"Allison huh?" Damon's smirk twisted even tighter at the mention of the girl's name and he sat back in the chair with his hands gripping the arms tightly. "Maybe I can be serious for a mere moment."

"I know I say this a lot to you, but you need to be serious for once." Stefan ordered his brother even though he knew he couldn't really make Damon do anything he didn't want to do. He hadn't been able to do it when they were human and he certainly couldn't do it now when they were vampires. To get Damon to do something you wanted, you had to know how to play him. And it was obvious that the subject of Allison was going to grab his attention. "But yes, Allison is the reason we need you to be serious."

"Fine, fine. I will give you exactly 2 minutes of my time." Damon waved his hand in the air at the two of them. "Make it quick. The night is long and I want to go out."

"Alright." Elena cut in, leaning forward with her arms on her knees while she turned her eyes right on Damon. "The problem that we have is that I asked Bonnie to help Allison by breaking the curse on the tomb so Godric can get out. But she doesn't want to do it and refuses to be involved in any capacity and it has made Allison really upset."

"So what do you want me to do about that?" Damon asked with a frown. "Threaten the witch until she gives in?"

"No!" Both Stefan and Elena shouted in unison at Damon who only smirked and shrugged right back at them.

"Relax, I was kidding. Sort of." He said, running his tongue over the tip of his fangs before asking. "So what do you really want me to do?"

"Well, since Bonnie won't take part in this, we have to find another way to help Godric. We are already working on it, but it would really help if we had another person to join in." Stefan explained, looking at his brother and hoping that Damon would actually put aside his attitude for once to do something good for someone else. "We want you to help us help Allison."

"Uh, I don't think so. Group activities are not my thing." Damon shook his head stubbornly. "I think I will sit this one out."

"Damon you can't be seriously refusing to help." Elena replied, taken aback by his carefree manner and seemingly unawareness about the situation. "It would mean a lot to Allison if you would help us with this..."

"And you should also remember that I don't do favors unless it benefits me." He shot back, getting to his feet and rolling his shoulders. "Your two minutes are up. Time to go out and cause a riot on the town."

"You are hopeless sometimes Damon." Stefan sighed, covering his eyes with his hands as his brother's laughter echoed in his ears.

_

* * *

_

_At the Mystic Grill_

"Now this could be a pleasant end to a bad day or it could make it even worse." I said to myself as my eyes caught the sight of three familiar figures entering through the doorway and making a bee line for the bar where I was standing behind. I smiled when my eyes met Stefan and Elena, but I was more hesitant to be cheerful when I turned my focus to Damon. If there was going to be a bad end to this day, it was going to be because of him. I just hoped he behaved himself this time. "Hey guys, what are you doing here?"

"Oh nothing, we just wanted to come by and see you." Elena replied with a grin, leaning across the counter to hug me quickly before sitting down on the stool on the other side. "Especially Damon. He was practically dragging us out the door so we could come here."

"I was not." Damon denied, sending a glare at her before he too sat down and shrugged out of his leather jacket. "But even if I was, any one should be so lucky to be in my presence."

"Your cockiness never ceases to amaze me." I rolled my eyes but not before I smiled slightly at him which only further proved to boost his ego because the smirk on his face got even bigger. "It always makes me want to jump up and down whenever you walk in here."

"It should." Damon sneered, raising his eye brows in my direction. "You know you love it."

"Not really." I shook my head, reaching into the microwave and pulling out the two bottles of true-blood I had slipped in there when I saw them come in and set the blood on the counter in front of the two vampires. Stefan smiled and nodded his head to show his thanks but Damon just swept the bottle into his hand and started chugging it like a beer. I fought the urge to say something as I turned to Elena to ask her what she wanted but I was momentarily paused when I saw the faraway look on her face, and expression that said she was thinking of something very intensely. And if I were to touch her I would get an idea of what it was that was going on inside her head. But I was just about to ask her what was wrong and had barely raised my hand when I got hit in the face with the full brunt of her thoughts. And I was furious by what I heard.

_I can't believe I agreed to come here tonight with them, especially after how Damon acted. I still can't believe him and his attitude. He can be such a dick sometimes._

_I try to give him the benefit of the doubt tonight when Stefan and I sat down with him to ask if he would help Allison help Godric but that turned out to be a mistake. _

_Because does Damon ever want to help any one? NOOOO. According to him, he would only ever help Allison if it some how benefited him. And that pisses me off._

_Why is he refusing to help her? He knows how much this means to Allison but it is like he does not care. And after the disaster with Bonnie, we really could have used his help. But he won't do it._

_And now he comes in here pretending like nothing happened and everything is good. But it's not good. It's horrible._

_I just hope Allie figures out another way to help Godric before she finds out that Damon won't help..._

"You're such an asshole." I said calmly to Damon the minute Elena's thoughts stopped screaming at me and I threw down the pen I had been twirling between my fingers and glared at him. "I should have known you wouldn't be willing to help unless it was to your benefit. But I keep on thinking the next time will be different but it never is."

"How did you...you read my mind." Elena slapped her hand to her forehead and groaned. "Damn it, I shouldn't have been thinking my thoughts so loudly but I was still mad and you weren't supposed to find out like that."

"It's fine. I don't care. It's what I expect from someone like him." I shot back in Damon's face, pleased when I saw the frown there as I began backing away. "Excuse me. I need a minute."

And I turned on my heels and walked right out the door behind the bar, eager to hide out in the back parking lot until I was able to calm myself down long enough so I could return to the bar and face them. But for now, I would take a few minutes and just stand out there in the cold night and hopefully regain my composure.

_

* * *

_

_8 minutes later_

"Oh my god, do you always have to show up when I am trying to get away from you?" The annoyed voice asked him the minute he stepped out the back door and into the parking lot.

Damon grinned at the way she rolled her eyes at him, enjoying the fact that he got a reaction our of her. He always loved when he managed to piss her off because it just went to show how easily he was able to manipulate people even when he couldn't glamor her in particular into submission. He had the power here, not her and he was going to make sure she knew that. And that was why he had left the bar moments ago and came out here into the night in the hopes of finding her and trying to make a move on her once again. Because who knows? When a human is pissed, they do unexpected things to shut the other person up. So maybe tonight would be the night she finally allowed him to kiss her.

"Aw, what's the matter? Not happy to see me?" He asked with a sneer, walking up to where she was leaning against the side of the building with her arms crossed and stood in front of her with his feet braced solidly. "You seem angry."

"You're damn right I am angry." She snapped, dropping her arms to her side as she looked at him. "I just found out that you are refusing to help me with this Godric situation even though you saw how much it would mean to me to be able to get him out."

"I don't exactly know what you want me to say..."

"I mean, I don't know why I expect that you will ever behave differently then all the other times we have encountered each other because I know you won't. But that doesn't stop me from hoping that this time will be different. That this time you will have something resembling a heart." She hissed, lifting her eyes to meet his and there was an up-rise of fury there. "But you never do. And I should know better then to trust an asshole like you."

"I'm not..."

"Yes you are. You are an asshole. And we both know it. I knew it the first night we met because as I said before, I know vampires like you and I shouldn't have thought you would be the exception to that. And you certainly aren't. You are just a cocky, self centered, son of a bitch that is incapable of ever doing anything nice for anyone unless it is to your own benefit. You are horrible and cruel and mean and selfish and...What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Damon didn't answer as he rushed forward, grabbing her by the arms and shoving her backwards into the wall of the building while his fangs shot out in that split second. He covered her mouth with his free hand so her screams couldn't be heard while his other hand grabbed a handful of hair and yanked her neck to the side so it was exposed to his eyes . He didn't hesitate before rearing his head back and sinking his fangs into that smooth, warm skin the way he had always wanted to since the first moment he saw her. He felt her entire body tighten and he could hear the whimper of pain escaping from her mouth as she fought against him, but it didn't stop him from sucking on those wounds and getting his first taste of the blood he had craved for so long. He barely even noticed as she struggled, too entranced by that intoxicating blood that was now filling his mouth and sliding down his throat, satisfying him in ways that no other human blood had ever done for him. She was delicious just like he knew she would be but his fantasies about what she would taste like didn't even compare to what he was drinking now. She was delectable and succulent and everything he had ever searched for in his quest for blood. And he would have kept on drinking from her except for one thing that stopped him and shook him deeply when he felt it.

The pain. He felt her pain. And it wasn't a physical pain from him attacking her. It was a mental pain, an emotional pain. It was like feeling the sharp point of a thousand knives stabbing him repeatedly in the chest with no sign on stopping. Or being hit in the stomach with a baseball bat multiple times until he felt like he was going to curl over in agony. It was a feeling that felt cold to him even when all he knew as a vampire was coldness. And he recognized that emotion. It was sadness, pure and utter sadness that he had never truly understood about her until this moment. It was sadness that had betrayal thrown in to the mixture that only further caused the pain to fester. And it was only now that he understood why Allison was the way she was. He could see how much she had been hurting because he was feeling it as intensely as she was. It was a pain that made him shake down to his very core. A pain that when he felt it, it almost made him feel human again and that's when he retracted his fangs and let her go, watching her step away from him with her hand going to her neck to stop the flow of blood as it ran down her skin.

"You felt it didn't you?" She asked, her voice weak and quiet but still coming through strong enough to get his attention. "You felt my pain. You felt how badly I've been hurting since I arrived here. And it shocked you."

"Yes it did. I wasn't expecting that." Damon admitted, feeling shame wash over him for the first time in a while as he looked at the girl in front of him with the blood still flowing down her neck and beginning to stain her clothes. He moved towards her again, reaching for her arm and she allowed him to pull her hand away so he could look at the wounds and he was disgusted when he saw how painful they looked. He met her eyes and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, I wasn't going to react like that. Let me heal those..."

"No." She said simply, shaking her head and twisting her arm out of his grasp and stepping away to the side. "I don't want you to heal me."

"Why not?" Damon asked, confusion filling him up as he looked at her. "I know I was rough with you and I know I hurt you. Just drink a little of my blood and those marks will be gone and..."

"No, I can't do that." She told him, biting her bottom lip as she struggled to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. "I won't take blood from another vampire. I just won't."

"But you're hurt and I was the one who caused it." Damon snapped, not able to handle this feeling of guilt that was starting to eat him up on the inside. "Let me heal you. No one has to know."

"You're not getting it Damon. I told you I won't take blood from another vampire and there is a reason for that." She replied, putting her hand back on the wounds in her neck before she looked at him one last time. "I formed a blood bond with Eric and I won't form another one. Even if it means I have to suffer in pain for a while. I won't make another bond like that with a vampire. It's just not going to happen."

Damon watched as she backed away from him again and began moving towards the door of the building, ripping it open and disappearing inside without looking back at him for a second time.


	14. Can't find my way

**Chapter 14 Can't find my way**

_2 days later_

"You seem sad, little Fae. Why do you look so distraught?" Godric asked me a few days later when I turned the corner in the tomb and came into his sight and dropped down onto the dirt ground and hid my face in my hands while I listened to him shuffle around on his side of the dark hallway. I didn't want to look at him because of the bad news I had to deliver and mostly because I didn't want him to see how bugged I was about everything that had happened since I had last seen him. I was barely holding it together as it was and if I saw the expression on his face and the sympathy in his eyes I would surely fall apart again.

"I failed you Godric. I failed you big time." I muttered, looking down at my hands as I spoke and sighed. "You're going to hate me for what I have to tell you."

"I highly doubt that there is anything you could say that would make me hate you." Godric replied with that easy going tone in his voice that put me at ease and I tilted my head back to see him looking down at with a gentle smile. He sat down with his feet under him and he leaned forward with his arms on his knees as he asked. "How did you think you failed me?"

"I couldn't get Bonnie to agree to break the curse." I admitted with a frown, thinking back to that night when Bonnie had pulled me aside on the street and told me that she wouldn't take part in releasing Godric and I found myself getting sad all over again. "She doesn't want to be involved in this and Elena says there are no other witches in the area."

"I suspected that may happen." Godric stated, shrugging his transparent shoulders easily. "As I said, not many witches, if any, would want to break another witch's curse. So I can't say I fault Bonnie for her refusal."

"How can you not?" I demanded, clenching my hands tightly. "It's because of her that you are going to be stuck here for a while longer. And that pisses me off."

"I'm sure she has her reasons for believing her decision is the right one. And I can't be upset over that." Godric pointed out, the calmness never leaving his face as he spoke to me. "Besides, I've been stuck here for this long anyway. A little more time is not going to kill me."

"You shouldn't have to be here for any amount of time." I hissed, my voice sounding a lot more harsh then it ever had before. "What if I called home and I asked around? Maybe I could get a witch to come here and break the curse."

"I don't think that would be wise my dear." The 2,000 year old vampire told me with a shake of his head. "If you were to do that, then word would get back to Eric and I don't wish for him to find out about this just yet. And we both know why I think that."

"Because Eric would freak out and he would only have one thing on his mind. Revenge." I finished Godric's sentenced and nodded in understanding. "And if it didn't work then it would hurt him even more. So you were probably right the first time you said that we should keep this between us."

"I don't want to bring any more pain upon my progeny then there already has been." Godric murmured, looking down at the dirt and traced a circle with his ghostly finger. "So we will have to figure out another option."

"Wait, you said there was another way to get you out." I exclaimed, remembering the conversation I had with him just a few days ago and I sat up straighter. "You said that having a witch break the curse was the easiest and fastest way but that option failed and you also mentioned that there was one other way."

"Oh did I?" Godric asked, his face going blank as he spoke. "I don't recall saying that."

"But you did, I remember it very clearly. You said there was only one alternative but you never explained what." I said, feeling a ball of excitement drop into my stomach and I clasped my hands together gleefully. "So what is it? Tell me what the other solution is and I will do it right away."

"I can't." He replied simply, looking at me straight on and shook his head. "I can't tell you the other way. It's not right."

"What do you mean it's not right? Why can't you tell me and let me decide that?" My face fell into a frown as his words sunk in and I was confused. He knew the one other way that would set him free and he was refusing to tell me? That didn't make sense. "Godric, this could make a difference between you getting out of here soon and going home to Eric, or being stuck here for god knows how much longer."

"I realize that little one. I know the consequences of what my silence will be." He confessed, touching his hands to his knees as he sighed. "But I would rather stay here in the dark then to put this burden on someone like you. Do not ask me to divulge this information to you. It is not something I can do easily."

"Fine. I'll let it go for now. But this is not over Godric." I warned him, waving my finger in his direction. "It's not over by a long shot."

_

* * *

__Later that day_

"What the fuck is that?" Elena demanded the moment she laid eyes on her friend when she walked through the doorway of Allison's apartment and she paused in the front hallway in shock. She had come over here expecting to just spend some time with Allie without any drama going on like it had for the past couple of weeks. But now that she was here and was looking at Allison, Elena found her eyes growing wide as saucers when she saw the marks on the older girl's neck and she dropped her bag on the floor in fury. "You were bitten by a vampire? When? Who? I'll kill them!"

"Um, I highly doubt you would be able to do that." Allison pointed out, her voice sounding surprisingly light despite the angry looking bites on her skin. "But I appreciate the offer any way."

"So who did this to you?" Elena asked, pulling her jacket off and setting it on the back of a nearby chair before she followed Allison into the kitchen. "And when did this happen? Was it recently? Because you never gave any indication that something like this had happened."

"It was a few days ago and I didn't say anything because it wasn't all that big a deal." Allison replied, opening a cabinet and taking down two glasses. "I'm fine and obviously still alive. So it's not a big deal."

"Hello? Are you crazy?" Elena asked, throwing her hands in the air. "You were attacked and bitten by a vampire. I think this is a very big deal."

"I just want to forget it ever happened. I have more pressing matters to think about and this attack is not one of them and you know why?" She asked, turning around with her hands on her hips. "Because it wasn't a stranger vampire who bit me. It was Damon."

"Damon!" Elena's eyebrows practically shot up into her hair line the moment she said his name. "Damon was the one who attacked you and bit you? Are you serious?"

"Completely serious." She nodded, walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out a pitcher of ice tea. "It was that night that I found out he wasn't going to help with the Godric situation. He followed me out to the parking lot and I insulted him and he bit me."

"Oh my god." Elena exclaimed, her jaw falling open at this explanation. "I had no idea. He never said anything about it."

"Well that's a surprise since he has been shouting around how much he thinks he would enjoy my blood since the first night we met. And then the second he drinks from me, I'm shocked that he didn't go around bragging about it." Allison rolled her eyes as she filled both glasses and set the pitcher on the counter. "But whatever. I don't care. It was going to happen sooner or later and now that it is over, I don't have to worry about it anymore. Damon got the chance to taste my blood and now we can all move on."

"That still doesn't change the fact that I am pissed." Elena said, pushing aside her glass of tea and walking out of the kitchen and back to where she had dropped her things while Allison followed after her.

"Uh, what are you doing?" She asked sounding concerned as Elena stuffed her arms back in her jacket and grabbed the handle of her purse and slipped it up over her shoulder.

"I'm going to stop at home to get something. And then I am driving over to the Salvatore house to kick Damon's ass." Elena said determinedly, looking back at her friend. "Don't worry, I won't really try to pick a fight with Damon. I will just yell. A lot."

* * *

_At the Salvatore house_

"You want to explain why you are walking around here looking so happy?" Stefan asked his brother, suspicious of Damon's unlikely good mood that had been present for the last 48 hours. There wasn't all that many moments when Damon had a smile on his face for a genuine reason and in fact, those moments were few and very far between. So that made him think that whatever had brought about this change of attitude had to be something that was sure going to disgust him. "Why are you looking like that?"

"Like what?" Damon asked, pretending to appear innocent but Stefan knew his brother too well and was able to pick up on the smirk that was going to show up on his face any minute. "What do you think I am looking like little brother?"

"You like you just had your top three fantasies all rolled into one." Stefan shot back, crossing his arms as he watched the darker haired vampire lounge back in the chair in front of the dancing fire. "Come on. I know something happened because you are never this nice for this long."

"Well since you are so curious I will tell you this. One of my fantasies did come true a few days ago." Damon confessed with a click of his tongue against his teeth. "And it involves a certain little brunette."

"Allison finally let you kiss her?" Stefan guessed, hoping that would be it and not what he has been secretly worrying about. But the look in Damon's eyes said it wasn't something as simple as a kiss. It was something much bigger then that. Something that Damon had been obsessing about for over a month. It was something that had satisfied the hungry look in Damon's eyes and Stefan found himself freezing in place when a wave of understanding washed over him and he looked at his brother in shock. "Damon, don't tell me you did what I think you did."

"Ok, I won't." Damon relented, shrugging his shoulders and turned back to look at the fire. "I know you wouldn't approve."

"Oh my god, you did it didn't you?" Stefan demanded, his hands curling into tight fists as he leaned forward. "You finally tasted her blood."

"Wow, that only took you 2 days to figure out." Damon said mockingly and rolled his eyes, an action that confirmed Stefan's worse fears. "But don't worry. I didn't take too much of her blood. Just enough to know how truly delicious she is."

"I can't believe you would do that." Stefan told his brother, disgusted by what he was hearing and he sat back with his hands tucked under his arms. "And I am even more surprised that you actually didn't drain her completely."

"Well if I did that then there would be no more fun to be had." Damon responded with a chuckle as he tossed a crumbled up napkin into the fire. "I had to leave her alive so I could keep the fun times rolling."

"You are so one dimensional that its not even funny." Stefan scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Do you even care that you could have hurt her? That is if you didn't kill her first?"

"But I didn't kill her now did I?" Damon shot back, smirking mischievously while he tapped his fingers against his chin. "And I won't kill her in the future. At least not purposely."

"You really are a piece of work, you know that?"Stefan couldn't but feel a wave of dislike towards his brother. Damon had no shame when it came to anything he did. He never felt guilt or remorse for the pain he brought down upon people and this time was exactly like all the others. Maybe it was time that he stopped thinking Damon could change. If it hadn't happened by now then it may never and it would do everyone good if he just accepted that. "You only care about your own well being and your own happiness."

"Uh yea, exactly." Damon agreed, laughing at him loudly. "Like you haven't realized that before now."

"I keep hoping that you will change and become a better person but I suppose that is just not possible is it?" Stefan questioned, biting down on his bottom lip and leaned back in chair he was in. "You are not going to change for anyone are you?"

"Nope." Damon shook his head as he answered. "I like how I am and nothing you say will change that."

* * *

_2 hours later_

"Well, don't you look angry this evening." Damon's mischievous voice filling her ears the moment she stepped through the doorway of the living room and threw her jacket and bag on the nearby table. Stefan caught her eye and took it upon him to remove himself from the room right away without even questioning it. He knew her that well and could tell that she was on a mission that had nothing to do with him. So she was grateful when he left her alone with Damon because she didn't want him to be around to witness her anger at it's peak. Elena never wanted Stefan to see that side of her.

"You know what? I'm not even going to yell at you." Elena told him, marching into the room and sitting down calmly in the chair opposite of him in front of the fire and crossed her legs. "Because I have yelled at you before and it is obvious that it doesn't work on you."

"See, you are finally learning." Damon replied, swirling his champagne glass full of blood and grinned. "But I am curious to know how you will express your anger this time since I can guess that it has something to do with my little taste testing from the other night."

"If that's what you want to call it then fine." Elena grumbled, gritting her teeth so hard that her jaw started to hurt. But she held back from her natural instinct of yelling and just gripped the arms of the chair tightly. "But why on earth would you attack Allison and drink her blood?"

"Why not?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as he turned to look at her and took a long sip from his glass. "It was fun."

"Who cares if it was fun, you could have seriously hurt her or worse, killed her." Elena pointed out, resisting the urge to jump up and knock that damn glass out of his hand. "I get that she insulted you but did you have to react like that? Why must you always react like that?"

"Didn't we already establish the fun factor?" Damon smirked, setting his empty glass on the table and intertwined his fingers together on his lap. "But I am assuming that this isn't the only reason you are pissed off at me."

"Oh Damon there are many reasons why I will forever be mad at you." Elena pointed out, rolling her eyes as she knew that this vampire would never be the kind of vampire that Stefan was, but that didn't stop her from trying. "But I am also still mad about the fact that you are refusing to help Allison with the Godric situation."

"I told you and Stefan that group activities are not my thing." Damon protested with an underlining groan as he hunkered down in his chair and crossed his arms. "It doesn't make me an asshole for not wanting to have my time used up on helping a vampire I don't even know."

"I think you are only refusing to do it because you hate that Allison's mind is on a vampire that's not you." Elena retorted, pleased when a dark frown appeared on Damon's features. "But it does make you an asshole because no matter what your reasoning is, you should have taken in to account that this means a lot to her. And you don't even seem to care in the slightest about that."

"I made it very clear that I don't care and I hate repeating myself so don't make me do it." Damon snapped, his eyes turning to slits as he glared at her. "Do you get that yet?"

"I get that you are incapable of caring about anyone other then yourself. I wish that weren't true because I honestly believe that you have a heart somewhere inside of you but you are not going to let it out and your actions show that." Elena mentioned, sighing heavily and she ran her hands through her loose hair before continuing. "You just can't do anything nice even when it would really make a difference in someone's life. And that's just so incredibly sad to me."

"I never said I could do anything nice. So don't expect me to." Damon snapped, getting to his feet with a sneer. "I'm not harboring any goodness inside of me that's waiting to come out. There is no goodness so stop looking for it."

"Yea, whatever you say Damon." Elena muttered, watching as he stomped out of the room and left her alone with her thoughts.

* * *

_Later that night_

"You're back so soon. I wasn't expecting this." Godric said to me when I showed up at the opening of the tunnel that night with my flashlight clutched in my hand and a determined expression that I was sure was written all over my face as I walked towards him and stopped 2 feet away with my arms crossed. "You look upset."

"Not really so much upset as I am frustrated." I replied honestly, rubbing my face with my free hand before I focused on him as best I could in the darkness. "I'm trying to understand what you said to me this morning but truthfully, I think it is a bunch of bullshit."

"I can see why you think that." Godric nodded, his ghostly body pacing back and forth across the length of the corridor. "And I can also see that my silence about it has bothered you."

"Yea it has because it doesn't make sense." I told him, running my fingers through the ends of my long hair as I tried to vocalize what I was feeling not just now, but also what had been with me the entire day. "I mean, you called me here for a reason and that was to help you get out of this tomb. And I told you that I was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. But when that first option failed, you should have been able to tell me the other way that you knew of. And you didn't. And I'm trying my hardest to understand why."

"I don't mean for this to torment you but I just can't bring myself to tell you what else can be done. It's a heavy burden and I could never think of asking this of you." Godric explained with a forlorn look on his pale, transparent face. "It's an option that I was hoping to avoid."

"I don't care if you think it is a burden. I will do anything that I have to do to get you out of here." I said earnestly, praying that he would just tell me what I was supposed to do already. "It can't be something so terrible that you can't even say what it is."

"To me it is terrible. Because it requires a huge sacrifice on your part and I would never ever ask you to do that just so I could escape this tomb." Godric shook his head stubbornly. "I would rather stay here longer and look for another option rather then have you do this. It's too much."

"Will you just let me decide that?" I snapped, angry tears filling my eyes and they were beginning to fall down my face almost as quickly as they appeared. "Please Godric just tell me what it is and I will do it, no questions asked."

"Your heart is in the right place and I would be taking advantage of your kindness by telling you what I know." Godric sighed as he began backing away into the shadows. "I'm sorry. But I can't do that."

I couldn't even watch as he disappeared from my view because my vision clouded over in tears.

_20 minutes later_

"I've been waiting for you. Where have you been?" The voice of Damon Salvatore asked as I walked down the empty hallway of my apartment building and saw him leaning against the wall next to my door. He stood up straight as I came closer and I saw him frown when his eyes landed on my face. "You've been crying."

I didn't even bother to deny it because I knew it wouldn't do any good. I had never been great at hiding my emotions and right now I couldn't even attempt to try. I was way too drained emotionally to put up any kind of a buffer. I had barely been able to pull myself together after my talk with Godric long enough to get back in my car and drive away. But I was upset and had to pull over twice when my eyes filled up with tears and distorted my vision. Eventually I was able to keep my frustrations at bay so I could get home and my face dried itself of the tears. I wanted nothing more then to just go inside and fall asleep without any more interactions with people. But that wasn't going to happen with Damon standing outside my door.

"Go away. I don't have the energy to fight with you tonight." I told him, reaching in my pocket for my keys. "I just came back from seeing Godric and it didn't go well and I just want to forget about it."

"What happened?" Damon wanted to know, his usual smug expression no where to be found but he wasn't exactly putting me at ease anyway.

"Oh don't pretend to care. You made it obvious that you don't" I snapped at him, my fingers locking around my keys as I looked up at his face. "Why are you here?"

"It came to my attention that my actions from the other night in the parking lot weren't my most charming and I came here to apologize for that." He said gruffly, sticking his hands in his front pockets and looking uncomfortable. "I'm not good at this apology thing. So can you cut me some slack?"

"Yea ok, whatever. Apology accepted." I waved my hand, not really caring about what had happened between us. "But that doesn't mean that I am going to let go of your refusal to help me. That I can't forgive. Because it really hurt me. More then you biting me did."

"Allison..." He began to say but I cut him off quickly.

"No, it's ok Damon. You don't have to say anything else. I know you don't care about what is important to me so don't force yourself to try and make it right because nothing you say or do will fix it." I shrugged, moving around him to the door and he let me go. I slid my key into the lock and turned the knob so I could step into the door way and turn on the light before I pivoted around to look back at him. "I rescind my invitation to you to enter my house. Good night Damon."

And I shut the door in his face without a second thought.


	15. I'm on your side

**A/N: the song lyrics used in this chapter are from "Still on your side" by BBMak...i do not take credit for this this song.**

**Chapter 15 I'm on your side**

_Don't you know that I will stand up for you_

_No matter what you're going through_

_I'm still on your side_

_Any time, day or night_

_Don't care if it's wrong or right_

_I'm still on your side._

"Thank god I actually took today off." I said to myself as I sat at the kitchen counter and pushed my lunch around on my plate with my fork. "I needed time to myself."

It was true. I had finally taken it upon myself to ask for a day off from work because I was just not in the right frame of mind to be around other people. I had woken up that morning truly feeling down in the dumps after my encounters with both Godric and Damon the night before and I knew going into work would probably not be the best idea. So I called Tony and asked him if I could have the day off and he was more then happy to allow it, saying that it was about time that I demanded a break, a statement that made me laugh and smile as I hung up the phone. After that, I pretty much just stuck around the apartment doing menial tasks that would keep me busy and from thinking too much about what was really bothering me. I was fighting to keep the feelings of betrayal at bay when I was brought out of my haze by the ringing of the phone on the counter next to me.

"Hello." I said upon picking it up, thinking it was probably Elena calling to check up on me like she did every so often but I was surprised when I heard who it really was.

"Allison, it's Damon." The husky sounding voice spoke from the other end, freezing me in place on my chair. "We need to talk."

"I don't think we do." I replied, hating that my voice was sounding so weak and defeated. "I have nothing to say left to say to you."

"Maybe you don't, but I do." Damon charged on, his tone just as dark and intimidating as it always was, only this time I wasn't bothered by it. I was through dealing with him and his old tactics were not going to work on me any more. "I want to tell you..."

"I don't want to hear it. Good bye." I snapped, slamming down the phone before jumping to my feet and throwing the rest of my lunch away.

_

* * *

__Later that night_

"Why won't anyone talk to me?" Damon asked his brother as he strolled into the living room where Stefan was lounging in front of the fire with a book and dropped down on to the floor in a heap. "Not that I'm all that needy because I'm not. I'm just bored. But neither Allison or Elena will give me the time of day. Especially Allison, I called her today and she hung up on me."

"Does that really surprise you?" Stefan asked, looking up from what he was reading and sent a look at him that was full of disbelief. "Come on Damon. How many times do we all have to say it to you before you finally understand it?"

"If you're saying this is about the Godric thing..." Damon was beginning to say but his brother cut in right away and overtook him.

"It's always about the Godric thing because that is the big issue at the moment. And it is important to Allison and you won't step in and help her. Do you kind of see where I am going with this?" Stefan asked with a wave of his hand. "You're just doing what you always do and not caring. And for someone like Allison who doesn't know you as well as I do or even Elena, that's going to be a shock when she is looking for help and you're not giving it."

"Can't she just get over it?" Damon questioned with a shrug. "I mean, why does she need help getting information to release Godric from the tomb? Why is it such a big deal?"

"Are you serious?" Stefan asked, his dark eyebrows practically going up into his hair line as he spoke. "Damon, think about it. Think about how you felt when you were trying to release Katherine from that very same tomb. Think about how you were willing to do anything and everything to make sure she got out. Think about how you manipulated and deceived and threatened people to get your way. And remember how much it meant to you to have it finally happen. Can you imagine people refusing to help you when you needed it? Now think about how Allison is feeling. Knowing that her friend is trapped and she doesn't know how to help him. Do you know how helpless that must make her feel?"

"I guess I didn't really consider that." Damon mumbled, looking at at his hands in his lap and shook his head. "I don't always mean to be this much of an asshole. But sometimes I just can't help it."

"I know. It just comes naturally for you." Stefan teased, sitting up straight with his legs crossed. "But you have to start learning how to turn that off. And it only happens with practice."

"I hate practicing." Damon groaned, leaning back on his elbows and stared into the fire. "But do you think it's worth it if I try?"

"Yes I do." Stefan nodded with certainty. "Because if you don't start at least attempting to be nice, then you are going to lose something that I know you want."

"Allison."

"Exactly. She is not going to respond very much longer to this attitude problem of yours. And if she means even the slightest bit to you, then you need to make a change. And you need to make it now." Stefan warned him like he was the older brother and not Damon. "I'm telling you right now. If you don't want to lose her then you have to fix the mess you created. And fast."

* * *

_2hours later_

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Go away." I shouted at my locked door as I sat on the couch in my living and turned my attention back to the TV show I was watching and tried to ignore who ever it was outside my door. I was not in the mood to be dealing with anyone right now. It was night time and I was tired and I just wanted to be alone. So I hoped by refusing to open the door, then whoever it was would go away and I would have peace. So I huddled under the blanket I had pulled down from the back of the couch and laid my head against my hand as I stared straight ahead. But the peace wasn't lasting long before it got interrupted again.

_Knock knock knock_

"Oh dear god." I threw back the blanket and jumped to my feet, stomping across the carpet and flipping the lock before pulling it open and crossing my arms at the sight of the figure standing in front of me in all black. "Damon, what are you doing here?"

"Can I come in? I think we need to talk." He stated, not moving until I gave him the invitation but that wasn't about to happen. Not by a long shot. He just stood there, towering above me with his blue eyes searching my face but I just shook my head.

"No Damon, inviting you in to talk is not a good idea and it's not going to happen. Simple as that." I replied, tucking my hair behind my ears. "And frankly, I don't even think there is really anything to say."

"Does it make a difference that I kind of feel bad about the way I have been acting lately?" He asked, his face scrunching up in a frown. "I'm not good at admitting I was wrong but I was wrong."

"Oh wow, that sounded sincere." I scoffed, rolling my eyes at his feeble attempt to make the situation less hurtful then it was but that just was something that couldn't be fixed. Even if he did try. "Are we done here?"

"No we're not done." Damon exclaimed, his frown deepening and he tried to take a step forward but he couldn't pass through the doorway and stood out there looking pissed off. "Let me in."

"Oh no you don't. You don't get to misbehave and then demand to be invited in. It doesn't work like that because friends shouldn't treat each other the way you treated me when you refused to help." I told him, biting down on my lip because I could feel the familiar prick of tears start to appear in my eyes and I wanted to shake it off before they fell. I tightened my arms around myself and turned my head to the side. "I don't...I don't think we can be friends."

"Look I said I was sorry for hurting you that night in the parking lot..." Damon began but I interrupted him.

"It's not about the attack Damon. It was never about the attack. It's about you not being there when I needed you to be there. It's about you not trying to help with something that meant so much to me. You just turned a blind eye because it had nothing to do with you and you didn't care that it hurt me. You just didn't care. And that's not how friendship is supposed to be. It's supposed to be having faith and trust that the other person is on your side no matter what and I don't feel that with you." I explained, directing my eyes down to the floor as a few tears started rolling down my cheeks. "I don't think you're ever going to be on my side and I need you on my side but you just can't do that. And for that, I just don't think we should be around each other anymore."

"Allison..."

"Go away Damon. There's nothing left to say. You're not capable of being someone's friend and I realize that now. So we have nothing left to discuss." I finished and shut the door behind me with only the sounds of the lock filling the silence.

* * *

_40 minutes later_

_Maybe I should have told her the truth after all._

This was the thought going through Godric's head as he sat on the dirt floor of the tomb and went over his last conversation with Allison and he remembered with shame the way she had looked at him as he left her there alone in the tunnel as he retreated farther into the tomb so he wouldn't have to answer her questions. She looked so distraught and sad and he almost wished he hadn't done what he had done. But it was hard not to stand by his original decision to keep the truth from her. He honestly believed that the other option he had for getting out of here was too much of a sacrifice and he didn't want her to feel like she had to go through with it just because of their connection. Although she was a 23 year old woman and quite capable of making her own decisions, Godric was a 2,000 year old vampire and he looked at her like she was still a child and he wanted to protect her, even from himself. Because if he were to confess his last means of escape, it would bring pain and weakness down upon her and he couldn't do that to the poor girl. She was as innocent as they came and she had suffered through enough pain and anguish at the hands of the Fellowship and even from his progeny as well. And Godric couldn't bear the thought of her life being filled with more pain and suffering then there already was. It just wouldn't be fair to her.

"Ah, the ghost vampire is looking pensive again. How quaint." A smirking sounding voice spoke up from the opening of the tunnel and Godric's head shot up to see an approaching solid figure coming his way and stopping just before the moonlight that shinned down through the broken ground above them. "I believe you remember me."

"Yes I do. You're Damon Salvatore, you were with Allison when she found me that night." Godric nodded, remembering the much younger vampire very well. He knew Damon was young just by his senses alone. He may not be technically alive, but that didn't mean he didn't still have his instincts. Those were things that would never leave him. He kept that in mind as he turned his eyes on the taller figure and calmly asked. "How can I help you?"

"You're disgustingly polite for a vampire but whatever." Damon rolled his eyes in a huge circular movement, a reaction that didn't go unnoticed as he crossed his leather jacket covered arms and narrowed his bright blue orbs down at Godric. "I came here for one reason and one reason only. And we both know what that is."

"Did Allison ask you to come here?" Godric questioned, not intimidated in the least by the taller vampire and it wasn't just because they were on opposite sides of a cursed hallway. It was because Godric knew that even though this wasn't his area or home, he still had his age on his side and that gave him a much needed power step over this vamp in front of him.

"No, I came on my own. She has no idea I'm here." Damon replied with a deep growl at the mention of the girl's name before shaking it off and focusing his sights downward. "I want to know the other way."

"The ..other way?" Godric knew he wasn't good at playing dumb, especially against another vampire. It was one thing to keep it from Allison because she was human and would eventually tire out and have to leave. But Damon was a vampire and he could wait it out as long as he wanted.

"Don't try that on me. It may work on Allison but not on me. You know what I'm talking about." Damon hissed, his voice's tone would have scared anyone else but Godric stood steadfast and didn't flinch as the dark haired vamp went on. "I want to know the truth. I want to know how else you can be released. You won't tell her but you can tell me."

"And why do you want to know?" Godric asked, raising his ghostly brows at the more alive vampire. "From what Allison said, you were unwilling to help when you didn't know there was another option. So what is different now?"

"My curiosity for one thing. That's what different." Damon told him with a smirk and an unwavering stare. "I came for answers and I am going to get them."

"Wow, you sound so much like Eric. He would have said the exact same thing word for word." Godric pointed out with a laugh as he saw the similarities between his progeny and the vampire with him right now. "Allison was right about you."

"I didn't come to discuss Allison. I came because I want to know the truth. So tell me right now." Damon demanded, leaning against the dirt wall and crossed his legs at the ankle and as with a grumble. "What is the fucking truth?"

"Fae blood." Godric blurted out, taking them both by surprise when his answer echoed in the silent tomb and hung in the air between them like frozen breath. Godric felt the need to slap himself in the head but he knew it would appear comical as his hand would just pass on through his body. He hadn't meant for his explanation to be said so bluntly or even at all. But it was out so he might as well finish the reasoning behind it. "Ingesting Fae blood is the only other way I know of for me to leave this tomb."

"You're joking right?" Damon asked, seemingly amused by what was being said as a smirk spread across his face. "You're saying that Fae blood is going to be what brings you back to life? That has got to be a fucking joke."

"Oh it's no joke. It's completely true, although few know about this. I am one of maybe a handful that know it is possible for Fae blood to restore a vampire's body should their soul be separated at any given point." Godric explained, moving backwards on the balls of his feet as he spoke. "Fae blood is innocent blood, at least when it comes to Allison. The witch must have made sure to make that twist when she cursed me because I knew it in my head that this was the outcome that I had heard about. And it is kind of ironic since vampires are viewed as pure evil. So it's interesting that it would take the blood of an innocent to resurrect something that is considered the complete opposite."

"Now when you say that you have to ingest Fae blood, that doesn't mean...killing her does it?" Damon asked, his pale face tightening almost in a protective way. "Because I would never let her even think about coming near here again if that was the case."

"No it doesn't involve killing her." Godric exclaimed, horrified that it would even be suggested. "I can't believe you would even think I would allow her to do that."

"Then why couldn't you just tell her when she asked?" Damon growled, not looking entirely convinced that this was the truth. "If it didn't involve a killing then why did she say you were so worried about letting her know?"

"Because it still involves a major physical sacrifice." Godric retorted with a sigh, even when he didn't need to. He saw the look of confusion on Damon's face and he went on to say. "She would have to give me her blood for me to begin regenerating. And the exchange of blood is not something I would have ever asked her to do. It would cause pain to come to her and I didn't want her to think she had to do this for me, which is why I had held off telling her. Because she would have done it without a second thought. And I just wasn't comfortable asking her to make that kind of sacrifice just to release me."

"Hmmm, that's actually sort of nice." Damon pointed out, tapping his fingers to his temple. "Sickening, but nice. I guess that's what you would call being stuck here longer then you had to be because you didn't want to hurt a friend."

"Exactly." Godric nodded, watching as Damon stood up straight and began walking slowly to the end of the corridor to leave the tomb. Godric was staring at him as he went when a thought hit him and he spoke again. "Damon wait. I have something to ask of you."

"Make it quick. I have places to be." The young vampire mumbled, pausing and turning rapidly on his heels to look back with an annoyed expression on his face. "Well?"

"Why did you come here and demand an answer from a vampire you don't even know?" Godric questioned curiously, observing the way Damon's muscles tensed up. "Because I have a feeling it wasn't just because you wanted to know."

Damon didn't answer right away and the two of them just stood there for a good long while and stared at each other. It was quite apparent that Damon was not used to such a question being shot at him. And once again, Godric was struck with the wonder at how much Damon reminded him of Eric. There were obvious physical differences, but the tone and the attitude was the same. And in a way it almost was like seeing his child all over again.

"She needed to know." Damon answered back with a shrug. "Allison needed to know there was another way. I did it for her."

"Honesty is always good." Godric smiled brightly when Damon spoke and he couldn't help but voice the tiny flame of thought that was going on inside his head. "You care for her don't you?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Damon scoffed and resumed his walking until he turned a corner and Godric could hear the gust of wind signaling that the vampire had taken off and had left the area, leaving Godric to silence that was broken by him laughing and saying one sentence.

"Oh this is going to get interesting."

* * *

_15 minutes later_

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Ok, ok I'm coming. Just calm down for Christ sakes." I grumbled, wrapping my arms around myself as I darted out of my bedroom dressed in a tank top and loose pants, all ready to climb into bed and fall asleep to put another bad day behind me. But it seemed like the universe wasn't done screwing with me yet because as I reached for the door knob to twist it open, I wondered who would be bothering me this late at night. But what I found on the doorway in front of me wasn't what I was expecting. "Damon Salvatore I already told you that I didn't want to talk to you again and then you just have to show up here again in less then 4 hours to do what?"

"I wanted to talk to you." He replied, not even a smidgen of sarcasm in his voice and it actually made me pause from slamming the door shut in his face. He took that second to charge on, probably sensing that I wasn't going to be all that patient and said. "I have the answer that you've been wanting to hear."

"Oh really?" I eyed him suspiciously, not trusting at all what he was saying. He hadn't proven himself worthy yet, so I wasn't going to just easily trust him now. "If this is a joke, I swear..."

"I'm not joking. I'm actually being serious for once." He told me, looking me straight in the eye and I saw that he was being sincere. That was a first. "Can I come in? I promise to explain it all and then leave as soon as I am done."

"Alright fine. Come on in." I stepped aside and waved for him to enter, which he did right away and I shut the door behind me, hoping I wasn't making a mistake. I walked over to the couch and sat down on one end while Damon took the other end and we sat there looking at each other until I spoke up to break the silence. "You're here to talk, so talk."

"I went to go see Godric." Was the first thing out of his mouth and it certainly wasn't something I thought he would say. I opened my mouth to say something in return but Damon immediately held up his hand, basically telling me to stay quiet until he was finished. So I did and just sat back with my hands in my lap as he spoke and explained it all. "As I said, I went to go see Godric tonight and I actually just left the tomb before I came here and I knew I needed to tell you what I found out right away because of how much it had been bothering you. I went there thinking that he wasn't going to tell me any more then he told you. But I was wrong. He did tell me more. He told me exactly what you wanted to know, and that was the other way to resurrect him."

"Which is what?" I asked quietly when Damon had paused in his rant.

"Fae blood, that's the answer according to Godric." Damon replied, tucking his hands under his arms as he spoke. "He said in order for his body to be whole again, he would need to ingest Fae blood. It was basically an oxymoron when his soul was cursed by that witch, because it would take the opposite of what he was to make him return to his former state. He said it was like a matter of putting a positive and negative together to get a reaction. He needs the blood of an innocent Fae like you to begin the resurrection of his body. He didn't want to ask you because he felt like it would be too big of a sacrifice, which was why he kept it to himself for all this time. He didn't want to bring more pain into your life."

"That is so like Godric to think like that." I muttered, smiling slightly at the good intentions of my vampire friend for trying to keep me safe. I looked up to find Damon standing up and making his way to the door, staying true to his word about explaining everything and then leaving as soon as it was over. But I found myself jumping up from the couch and rushing across the room to grab him by the arm and stop him from going as something bubbled inside my head and I had to get it out. "Damon wait. I need to ask you something."

"Ok." He nodded as my hand dropped away from his arm and we stood there by the closed door with barely a foot of space between us. He crossed his arms again and asked. "What do you want to know?"

"Why would you do that?" I wondered, looking up in to his blue eyes as I tried to make sense of why the night had taken this unexpected turn. " Why would you do something like that to help me?"

"Because I finally realized that you were right when you said I wasn't being a real friend when I didn't stand by you when you needed me the most." He explained, stiffly shrugging his shoulders as it was obvious he wasn't comfortable with what was coming out of his mouth. "And also because I was told once that I was incapable of doing anything nice unless it was for my own well-being and I wanted to prove that theory wrong."

"I guess you did." I agreed, a smile appearing on my face when he too grinned as he opened the door and entered the hallway to begin walking out to the entrance. I stood in the door frame and watched him leave, taking note of the way his body looked in his all black attire and leather jacket and I smiled again. Things had taken a turn for the better and maybe now Damon and I could try to have a more normal relationship. I was thinking this thought when I saw that he stopped halfway down the quiet hall and was now looking over his shoulder at me like he was going to say something and it made me stop any kind of words from rising up in my throat because what Damon said to me was something I was never going to forget.

"I did this for you. So don't ever think I'm not on your side. Because I am."


	16. A turning point

**Chapter 16 A turning point**

_The next morning_

"Ok, ok. I'm here." I said immediately upon skidding to a stop at the entrance to the tunnel of the tomb and looking up to see Godric standing just a few feet ahead shaking his head with a look of disbelief of his face. I continued forward, rolling up my sleeve and gripping my bag in my other hand as I got as close as I could and then just stopped. "Damon told me what you said. He explained everything and I'm here now to do what I have to do."

I said that with certainty because all night it had been all I could think about. After Damon had explained to me about his conversation with Godric, I hadn't been able to sleep at all. My head was full of conflicting thoughts about this new option and what the consequences would be if I followed through with it. Besides just the obvious of supplying a 2,000 year old vampire with pure Fae blood and what it would do to his strength once he had it in his system. But I also had to think of the other aspects of what this would do to my life. Giving him blood would weaken me and most likely make me uncomfortable for a while. But I had been through worse pain and I had survived, so I wasn't too afraid of the physical consequence. But the thing that kept resonating inside of me had absolutely nothing to do with me at all. Believe it or not it had to do with Eric.

That's what my mind had been coming back to every hour. What would Eric say when he found out that his maker was resurrected by me? And not just because of me, but because of my blood? Eric was very territorial and even if it was a situation like this, he would still find some way to freak out over me giving someone else my blood, even it was to help his maker. As much as it hurt to think about our last encounter, I couldn't help but relive it all night as his words came back to me.

_No matter where you go and no matter who you meet, remember that you are still mine..._

It was that line and that line alone that had made nervous about going through with this. It wouldn't matter to Eric that it was for a good cause. It wouldn't matter that it would be to bring back the maker we all thought was dead. It wouldn't matter that he would finally be able to ease the pain he had been carrying around with him. All that he would see is that I gave blood to another vampire and he would flip out. Eric had claimed me and no one, not even his maker should be able to feed on my blood. But all that aside, I knew what I wanted to do and worrying about Eric's reaction was going to have to put on the back burner. This was my decision and my choice and Eric had no say in what I did.

"I'll do it. I'll give you my blood right now and you can walk out of here tonight and go home and everything will be ok..." I began to say but Godric instantly started shaking his head the moment I began talking and I fell silent with a frown as I saw the apprehensive look on his ghostly face. Something was wrong. He wouldn't be looking at me like that if something wasn't wrong. "Godric, what is it?"

"While I appreciate your generosity, I have to stop you before you get into something you regret." He told me, motioning for me to sit down while he did the same. And once we were both settled, he looked at me with a sad smile and shrugged. "I love that you are so willing to give me blood right now, but it doesn't work like that. It doesn't just work with just one feeding."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused about what he was saying. I thought that I understood what the situation entailed. But apparently there was more to the problem then I originally thought. "What haven't you told me?"

"The resurrection process requires a lot of blood. And when I say a lot I mean it would take many, many feedings of your blood. I would need a constant supply I order for my body to start regenerating. It takes that much because not only will it rebuild my body, but it would have to replenish the amount that I destroyed in my suicide. Because it would be starting from scratch." Godric explained, his words coming to a stop as I guess he could see how taken aback I was when I let a gasp slip from my tightly clenched mouth. He looked at me with a sad smile, obviously feeling bad for laying this on me. "Allison, this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you in the first place. This was why I was so set on you trying to get a witch to break the curse. Because this other option is not one I would ever have asked you to do. It's asking too much and it would be taking too much of yourself just to release me. And that's why I held off for so long. I didn't want you to feel forced to put yourself through this."

"I..uh...I need some time to think this over. You know, take it all in?" I managed to say, getting to my feet and grabbing my bag. "I'll see you soon Godric. I just need to think about this."

"Allison wait." Godric called out as I began backing away and his voice forced me to stop and turn around to face him again. His pale features filled my vision as he spoke. "Before you even knew the true extent of what resurrecting me would entail, you were already offering yourself so willingly. Why is that?"

"I don't know. I need to get out of here." I stuttered and turned on my heels and got out of there, leaving him behind without looking back.

* * *

_30 minutes later_

"Allie, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" Elena asked the older girl when she crossed the street on her way to school and spotted the brunette sitting on a bench in the middle of the town square with a distracted look on her face. Elena frowned and dropped down onto the bench next to her, setting her bag on the ground and facing her friend, wondering what it was that had the girl looking so freaked out. "Allie, what's wrong?"

"Um, nothing is really wrong. I'm just thinking about a conversation I just had a half hour ago." She explained, twisting her hands in her lap as she turned her body in Elena's direction and sighed. "I went to go see Godric."

"I would have thought that would make you smile, not have you looking nervous." Elena pointed out, stretching her arm along the back of the bench. "What did you guys talk about?"

"Well, first off Damon came to see me last night and he was the one who got Godric to admit to the other way to resurrect him." Allie told her her with raised eyebrows. "And after thinking about it all night, I went to see Godric to try and go through with it, but he stopped me before I could and what he said kind of freaked me out."

"How so? And what exactly did you need to do?" Elena wondered, having a feeling that it was something big or else Allie wouldn't be looking like this.

"If a witch won't break the curse on the tomb, then there is only one other way to bring Godric back to life. The only way for him to escape is for me to give him a constant supply of blood until he regenerates and then he can leave on his own. And I wasn't expecting that." She explained, sitting back against the bench and sighed. "It kind of threw me for a minute and I told him I needed some time to think it over. Did I do the right thing?"

"Of course you did." Elena assured her, patting the girl's shoulder. "It's a pretty heavy thing to take on. It was more intense then you thought. It's only natural that you would need time to get used to the idea."

"I just feel bad." Allison answered with a heavy sigh as she crossed her arms. "I mean, he's been trapped in that tomb for almost a year without anyone knowing he was there and I could set him free but I need to think it over. It makes me feel like a bad person for not deciding it right away."

"What are you going to do?" Elena wondered, watching her with an intense eye. "I mean, what way are you leaning towards?"

"Honestly? I have no idea."

* * *

_Later that day_

"I hope you're happy!"

Bonnie turned at the sound of the furious voice yelling at her back as she walked and she looked over her shoulder to see Elena stomping towards her, finally speaking to her for the first time in days. Bonnie, frowned deeply at the sight of her best friend moving forward with the most anger filled expression on her face and she grew nervous. She never liked when she and Elena fought and this time it was a pretty big fight that ended with neither of them speaking to one another for days. And now Elena was making the first move, but it was obvious not in the way to make up and end their fight. It was for an entirely different reason that Bonnie was sure she wasn't going to like.

"Elena, what's wrong?" Bonnie asked, still concerned about why her best friend was looking so upset. She stopped walking, allowing Elena time to catch up to her more quickly before she asked. "What is it?"

"Do you have any idea what you have done?" Elena demanded, her long hair falling over her shoulders in an anger tumble. "Do you?"

"No, that's why I was asking." Bonnie replied calmly, knowing deep down that this conversation was not going to end all that well.

"You refusing to break the curse on the tomb has opened up a can of worms for Allison because she has been driving herself crazy trying to get Godric to tell her how else to help. And when he finally does, she finds out that it is much more complex then any of us thought." Elena snapped, her dark brown eyes blinking rapidly in fury as she struggled to get all of this out at once. "She has to give him blood, Bonnie. A lot of blood. It's not just like a taste of it. She has to keep giving it to him until his body is whole again. It's the only way to do it since you refused to do the spell."

"I didn't know." Bonnie whispered, taken aback by what she was hearing. She honestly had no idea that Allison would have to make such a huge decision like that just to bring someone back. She felt bad at the thought that Allison would feel like she was forced to give a huge part of herself away because there was no other choice. "Elena, I …."

"I don't know what she is going to decide to do, but if she does end up deciding to go through with this then I don't know how you and I can continue to be friends." Elena hissed, beginning to back away from her at a rapid pace. "She's going to sacrifice herself for him because you won't help her. She'll be in pain because she has no other choice. I seriously hope you are proud of yourself."

Bonnie watched Elena turn around and hurry away and knew that something had changed in that moment between them. And it was a moment of clarity of knowing that their friendship was beginning to fray at the seems and it may not be able to be repaired.

* * *

_At the Salvatore house_

_Knock Knock_

"Stefan get that will you? I'm busy." Damon ordered his brother the second the knocking on the door began and he immediately looked to Stefan to take care of it while he continued to lounge on the couch in front of the fire with a glass of blood in his hand. Stefan simply rolled his eyes and removed his arm from around Elena and got up to leave the room to see who it was. Elena instantly shot her gaze towards him and narrowed her eyes so threateningly that Damon was almost amused by it because it wasn't all that often that the brunette got that annoyed at him. He shrugged his shoulders and sat up, placing his glass on the table next to him and leaned forward with his arms on his knees and asked, "What?"

"Do you always have to talk to him like that?" Elena demanded, crossing her legs furiously and tucking her hands under her arms as she sat there and seethed. "I mean, he does nothing to deserve the way you order him around."

"Stefan can handle himself so relax already." Damon shot back, shaking his head as he watched Elena's brown eyes fill up with anger. "This is how I always talk to him and when he gets tired of it, he will let me know. He doesn't need you to stick up for him."

"I love him and that's what you do when you love someone. You stick up for them even when they don't need it. It's called showing that you care." Elena hissed, looking like she was ready to jump up and dive across the room and attack him. "You should try it some time."

"Nah, I don't think I will. Too much work." Damon waved off her comment with his hand and stretched out his arm across the back of the couch. "Besides, I don't fall in love. That's for saps."

"You're not fooling any one with that attitude of yours." Elena smirked, running her hand through the ends of her hair. "Maybe if you were a little more open to being vulnerable, you could have a chance at happiness."

"I'm perfectly happy with my life, thank you very much." Damon answered back with a smirk of his own. "So don't you worry about how I do things."

"Whatever Damon. Do what you want. I'm not going to comment on it any further." Elena told him, standing up just as Stefan walked back into the room only this time he wasn't by himself. There was another figure standing with him who Elena immediately rushed up to with a smile on her face. "Allie! What are you doing here?"

"I actually came to see Damon." She answered back, looking around Elena's shoulder to meet his eye and she smiled shyly. Damon smirked as he took in the way she looked at him, like she had something really important to say and she couldn't wait to say it. "Can we talk? Alone?"

"Of course you can. We'll just be going." Stefan nodded in reply, taking Elena by the arm and pulling her out of the room leaving Allison completely in his line of vision. They both stared at each other as they listened to Elena and Stefan grabbing their coats and exiting the house quietly before the sound of a car engine starting filled the silence, showing that the other two were indeed leaving them to themselves and for once Damon wanted to thank his brother for his actions. Damon looked Allison up and down, taking in the way she was wrapped up in a black leather jacket that only seemed to make her more sexy in his eyes and how her long hair was flowing freely down her back like a dark brown curtain and her green eyes were sparkling in a way that he hadn't seen since they met. It made him extremely curious to what it was that she wanted to talk about.

"So what's this about?" He asked, beckoning her in as he walked over to the fireplace and leaned against the mantle and watched her stroll towards him. "You look like you have something serious on your mind."

"Oh I do. But it has nothing to do with why I wanted to talk to you." She replied, pushing a strand of hair out of her face before moved closer to the fire and stood a few feet apart from him. "I came here because I needed to make something known to you and I didn't do that the last time we were together."

"You're not going to yell at me again are you?" He asked in mock fear and chuckled when she visibly rolled her eyes and smiled again. "Alright, I will attempt to be serious for exactly 5 minutes since you were the one to seek me out tonight."

"I appreciate that." She answered back, tucking her arms around herself as she leaned against the mantle and focused her green orbs on him in a stare that kept him for saying anything because of how intensely she looked at him. She swept her eyes up and down his body, studying him in a way that she never had before. On any normal occasion he would have said something inappropriate that would be guaranteed to get her mad at him but on this night, he held back. He just had this feeling that this was not the time to be making jokes so he remained quiet and allowed her to be the first one to speak. And when she did, what she said took him by surprise. "Thank you."

"Thank you? For what?" He asked, frowning at her strange response and he actually stood up to his full height and looked at her with his eyebrows raised in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Come on Damon. You know exactly what I am referring to." She said, uncrossing her arms and clasping her hands together. "This about you putting aside your issues that night when you went to go see Godric."

"It was no big deal..." He started to say but she cut him off with a wild shake of her head.

"Yes it was a big deal. It was a very big deal. Because if you hadn't gone to the tomb to see him, then I wouldn't know how to release him. He wouldn't have told me other wise if it hadn't been for you. And that's why I had to see you." Allison explained, stepping closer to him, her hands falling to her side as she closed the distance between them and tilted her head to look at him. She had never been this close to him on her own accord and it was now that he was able to really observe how smooth her skin was and how delicate her feature were. She was truly beautiful as she stood there in front of him, with barely a foot of air between them. Her lips curled into a sweet smile and he found that the simple action struck a cord deep inside him in a place that he never paid attention to before. The brunette shrugged her tiny shoulders encased in that black leather jacket and stared straight at him as she spoke again. "I need to make it clear to you without any hidden meaning or agenda. Thank you so much for doing what you did. It meant a lot to me."

And then she did something that took him by surprise even more. As she kept her eyes on him, she moved forward, taking away any space between them that remained and then without even the slightest hesitation, she lifted her arms and embraced him. Damon, for once, found that he didn't even know how to react as she pressed her tiny frame against him and tightened her arms around his midsection, hugging him in a way that he had never been hugged before in either his human life or vampire life. It was an embrace full of gratitude for what he had done and faith that he had turned his attitude around from the way it had been before. That all broadcasted clear through his head as Allison hugged him and as he felt her against his chest, it made something strange rattle around deep inside of him. It shook him up so much that he grabbed her by the arms and yanked her away from him, holding her tightly in his hands but keeping her at arm's distance.

"What?" She asked, her young face twisting in confusion as they stared at each other. "What's wrong?"

"Don't do that. Don't thank me." He hissed, his breath escaping through his clenched teeth as he released her and stepped back. "I don't deserve it."

"Why do you say that?" She questioned, tucking her hands back under her arms and stood across from him with an intense look in her innocent eyes.

"I'm not one of the good vampires. I'm the bad guy."

There was silence after that in which it was spent with him taking his eyes off of her and setting them on the carpet at his feet. He didn't want to look at her and see the confirmation in her face that he was indeed not worthy of anything she was offering to him. So what if he had done one nice thing? It didn't change anything. It didn't cancel out all the other bad things he had done. He knew he wasn't a good guy and he never would be. He had come to terms with that a long time ago. But it was one thing for him to admit it to himself and it was an entirely different thing to see it reflected in someone's eyes. And that was why he couldn't look at her.

But for the third time that night, she surprised him. He heard her step forward again and then he felt the warmth of her skin as she placed her hand against his cold jaw and directed his face upwards to meet hers. And what met him was a smile that was so sweet and genuine that it shook him up again. Allison leaned forward and pressed her soft lips against his cheek before pulling back and started backing away towards the doorway. When she got there, she looked over her shoulder and smiled once more.

"You're not the bad guy Damon. You may say you are, but you're not. I've seen who you truly are. And I can say with certainty that you are a good guy. I feel it in my heart that you are."

And that was how she left him that night, standing by the fire with an unnatural grin on his face.

* * *

_20 minutes later_

"What are you doing here?" Godric asked the second he heard footsteps and looked up at the end of the dark corridor just in time to see Allison coming around the corner, clutching her bag tightly in her hands as she moved closer to the moon light shinning down into the shadows.

He hadn't expected to see her again so soon after their encounter from earlier today. After he had explained to her what it would entail on her part to release him, he had been sure that she wouldn't show up here any time soon. He had seen the expression on her face when she realized it wouldn't be so simple to resurrect him as she had originally thought. He saw the fear in her eyes when he told her she would need to give him a lot of her blood in order for his body to regenerate and become whole again. He needed a constant supply for this to work and it was obvious that she hadn't considered that when she saw him this morning. It was a lot to take in and he wouldn't have blamed her if she had stayed away for a few days. If the situation were reversed he would probably have done just that. It was a pretty intense thing to do and that required complete certainty on her part and that could only come from taking a few days to think about it. And that was why he was surprised to see her standing here in this tunnel tonight.

"I thought about what we talked about this morning and I came to a decision." She said quietly, setting her bag down on the ground and reaching inside with one hand while she kept her eyes on him. "I want to do this."

"Allison, I know you want to help me and I am so grateful you would be willing to do that but it's a heavy thing to take on. And I don't want you to feel like you have to do this." He replied, watching her search her bag before she stood up with something else clenched in her fist. It only took him a split second to realize what it was before the scent invaded his nose. He may have only been transparent, but his senses were just as strong as ever. And he knew immediately what she had done without her ever actually confirming it. "I guess you really did make a decision."

"Yes I did." She nodded, kneeling down and setting the bottle of the dark red liquid on the floor of the tunnel before using her foot to roll it across the moonlight. They both watched it skid across the dirt until it came to a stop by his transparent foot and he was shocked when he was able to actually grasp it with his ghostly hand and pick it up, staring in shock at what the girl in front of him had done. Now that the blood was in his hand, its scent was so overly intoxicating. It had been a very long time since he had tasted Fae blood and even then it had only been partial Fae. This was the real deal and it was being given to him willingly. That was unheard of in the vampire community. Godric looked at her and she looked back at him with a smile before she nodded and gave him an order that he would gladly give in to.

"Drink my blood. Right now."


	17. Move Along

**Chapter 17 Move along**

_The next morning_

"Can we talk?"

Elena forced herself to hold back the groan that was threatening to escape her mouth when she left her house and was heading to her car only to see Bonnie standing there beside it with her arms crossed and a determined look in her eyes. Elena was almost tempted to go back inside and avoid dealing with her friend altogether and she would have done it if it hadn't been for the phone call she received an hour ago from Allie. Elena was shocked when she picked up the phone and heard that the older brunette had gone ahead and gave Godric the first round of blood and a rather big round it was. Because Allison had informed her that she was tired and weak and wasn't able to go into work and Elena had told her to hold tight and she would be over as soon as she could. Good thing it was the weekend because Elena had no plans and she could go take care of Allie all day if she had to. And that's where she was heading, only now she would have to go through Bonnie first.

"I don't have time for this, right now." She told her friend, walking down the porch steps and across the walkway towards where her car was parked. "I have some place to be."

"Just give me a few minutes and I will leave you alone." Bonnie practically begged as Elena walked passed her and tossed her bag through the open window and onto the passenger seat before she turned to look back at the witch. Bonnie stuffed her hands in her sweater pockets and said. "I don't like how things ended between us last night. And I don't want any more time to pass before we talk this out. Because the more time that goes by, the harder it will be for us to work through this."

"It's kind of too late for that." Elena hissed, clutching her keys in her hand as she glared at the girl she had been friends with for years. She had never felt so furious at anyone, let alone someone she would consider her sister. But after Bonnie had flat out refused to get involved, it was like Elena was seeing her through different eyes and she did not like what she saw. "Seriously, Bonnie it's too late. Things have already been put into motion and I don't like the repercussions of them at all."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie demanded, her pretty face scrunching up in worry. "What happened?"

"Because you won't lift the curse, Allison went ahead and gave Godric blood last night. A lot of it. And now she is too weak and tired to take care of herself." Elena explained, forcing herself to remain calm as she spoke, but she really wanted to scream. She didn't like when her friends were in pain or discomfort and Allie definitely was suffering through both. And it could have been avoided. "And that's where I am going right now. She called me and told me what happened. And I want to be there for her. Because that is what good friends do."

"Elena, I am a good friend. I have always been a good friend." Bonnie protested, grabbing her arm tightly. "Just because I won't back down from something I believe is right, doesn't make me a bad person and it doesn't make me any less of a friend."

"Actually it does. Because true friends would be willing to do anything to make sure no one is suffering because of their actions. And you aren't doing that." Elena pointed out, pulling her arm away and stepping back to her car. "You don't seem to care at all that Allie is going to be putting herself through hell to bring Godric back when you could do it so much more easily. And that's why I am mad."

"Elena, we have been friends for years and you've known this girl for like a month and a half." Bonnie shot back, crossing her arms tightly. "You're really going to hold a grudge because I won't help the newcomer and you're going to let that affect our friendship?"

"She's not just the newcomer any more. She's my friend and unlike you, I care about my friends." Elena snapped, grabbing the handle of the car door and pulling it open before jumping inside and slamming it shut again. She stuck the key in the ignition and turned it so the engine roared to life and then she stuck her head out the open window. "This is about you changing into someone I don't even know any more. The old Bonnie would be more open to helping people. But this version of you is cold, and mean and just plain bitchy. And I don't care for it."

Bonnie didn't say anything back as Elena put the car in reverse and backed away, driving furiously to get away from the girl she once called her friend.

* * *

_2 hours later_

"Come on, you have to give me some kind of reaction to this." Elena begged from her place on the edge of the bed while I shook my head and threw myself back against the pillows with a shy grin. Elena wouldn't be ignored because she crawled to where I was laying and grabbed my hands to tug them away from my face. "Just answer my question."

"Never." I protested, giggling out loud as I watched her frown down at me and I was grateful that I had a friend like her. She had been able to pick up my mood the moment she had walked through the door of the apartment and it hadn't let up for the last few hours. I was so glad she had been home when I called her this morning, I don't know what I would have done if she wasn't around. I could have made it through the day if I really wanted too by myself. But I knew it would be easier if I had a friend there with me and luckily Elena had stepped up to the plate and came over as soon as she could to watch over me. Only now she was attacking me with personal questions that although they were a little embarrassing, it was kind of fun to have someone to discuss these things with. But then again I wasn't giving up answers so easily. Especially to her constant nagging about what was going on with me and Damon.

"Allie, you have to admit that there is something there, even if you won't say out loud that you like him." Elena commented, sitting back with her legs tucked underneath her. "You have said that you find him sexy and attractive."

"Yea but that was just an observation. It doesn't mean there is anything going going on with us." I denied, hoping that my answer would satisfy Elena but one look at her face said it only sparked her interest even more. "What?"

"Are you seriously going to keep on denying this?" She asked, smirking in my direction. "I mean, I'm your friend. You can at least admit it to me."

"There's nothing to admit." I shot back, sitting up with my hair tumbling over my shoulders. "I don't know what you want me to say..."

"I want you to say the truth, that you are so feeling the passion and the heat between you guys." Elena laughed, dodging the pillow I tossed at her head. "What was that for?"

"For being a crazy person." I rolled my eyes and pushed my hair back behind my ears. "There's no heat, no passion, no nothing."

"I beg to differ on that subject." Elena retorted, pointing at me with one of her fingers. "Come on, we can all see it."

"See what?" I asked, pretending to play dumb but even I knew that would only last for so long.

"Allison, be real with me. I know you like Damon, I see it in your eyes every time you are around him. You may not be ready to say it to him, but you can say it to me." Elena assured me, reaching out and touching my hand with hers. "I'm your friend and whatever is said between the two of us will stay between us. I promise you that. But at least just be truthful to yourself. Do you like Damon?"

"Well...I don't...I'm not..it's kind of..." I scrunched up my face, struggling to find the perfect words that would end this conversation but I knew deep down that Elena would never stop trying to get me to confess so maybe if I just gave her one tiny little bone then she would drop it. Besides, it could be good to get this off my chest. I looked at her and sighed. "Ok, fine. I might like Damon a little bit."

"Yes!" Elena exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air and waving them around in excitement. "I knew you would give in and say it. I knew it, I totally knew it!"

"Yea, ok whatever. You got me to admit it." I agreed, shaking my head at her childish reaction but I was sort of amused by it. I never saw anyone get so ecstatic over my feelings for someone. But that didn't mean we were going to have some in depth conversation about it. "Can we just move along already?"

"Sure. Whatever you want." Elena said, pressing her lips together tightly to hold back what I knew was a giggle.

"Alright, so how about we talk about..." I began to say but Elena interrupted me with another excitement filled shout.

"Oh my god, when are you guys going to stop messing around and just start humping like gorillas?"

* * *

_Later that afternoon_

"Oh Allison, I don't know how you are still standing." Elena murmured quietly as she looked across the room at Allie's sleeping form and shook her head sadly. She got up and walked out the door to go sit in the living room and replay the conversation she had with Allie in her mind and she still marveled at how sad it still made her.

After the conversation about her feelings for Damon, Allison had changed the subject and refused to talk any more about it. So Elena went along with it and the two girls just spent the rest of the afternoon talking about other things like school, work and their favorite TV shows. But then for some reason that Elena still couldn't fathom, she brought up the subject of family and that's when things took a turn for the gloomy. Allison's reaction was not surprisingly considering what she had to say. But Elena didn't know that when she asked Allie about her family. She had no idea that what was going to be relayed back to her was going to be filled with so much trauma and sadness. And what was surprising was the fact that Allie didn't break down and cry like Elena expected her to. Had the situation been reversed and Elena was talking about her parents, then she surely would have been sobbing all over the place. But Allie held it together and somehow managed to tell her entire story without hesitating.

_"Can I ask you something?" Elena looked at Allie, unsure of what her answer would be to this sudden curiosity she had come up with._

_"As long as it isn't about Damon or vampire sex then sure." Allison replied, laughing as she spoke but she quickly became serious when her eyes locked with Elena's and she frowned. "What?"_

_"How come you never talk about your family?"_

_"Because it's a sad story and I don't like to unload that on people." The older girl said calmly with a shrug. "It's heavy stuff and I just don't think many people want to deal with that."_

_"Well, I want to know. But only if you want to tell me." Elena said, pulling her knees up to her chest as she looked at her friend. "What was your childhood like?"_

_"Simply put, full of death." Allison replied, directing her eyes downward to her feet as she spoke. "A lot of my family members died before their time and it kind of put me in a shell for a while. I was never able to really open up too well after that."_

_"I know how that's like." Elena mumbled, momentarily remembering how hard it had been for her when her parents died and how long it took her and her brother to rejoin their normal routines. "Who died in your family?"_

_"The first ones to go were my aunt and uncle, Sookie's parents. They died right before she turned 8." Allie answered with her lips pressed together in a tight line. "They were caught on a bridge in flash flood and they just didn't stand a chance. And when we were told that, it was the first of many funerals we had to attend over the years. And it really stole Sookie's childhood and she was like my sister. So seeing her in that much pain made the whole situation even worse. It made it sting that much more."_

_"That's horrible, no kid should have to go to their own parent's funeral." Elena felt an immense wave of sadness come over her as she listened to Allie talk. The girl wasn't lying when she said her family history was heavy and sad and Elena just got this sinking feeling it was going to get worse. "That's not it is it?"_

_"Nope." Allie bit down on the corner of her mouth and ran her hands through her long hair. "You see, my mom and dad were really close with Sookie's parents. The four of them were like the best of friends and when my aunt and uncle died, my parents just couldn't seem to get passed their grief. They struggled for so long and then finally 8 months after the flood, my mom and dad took their own lives with a shotgun. And I was the one that found them."_

_"Oh Allie." Elena found herself reaching out to grab the girl's hand. "That must have been so traumatizing for you..."_

_"Don't go there Elena, please." Allison begged, pulling away and shaking her head. "Don't do the whole sympathy thing. Just let me tell you the rest of my story and then we stop talking about it."_

_"Alright."_

_"So after all those deaths, my grandmother got custody of Sookie, her older __brother Jason, and me and the three of us grew up together into adulthood without any more tragedy. At least not until last year. You see, there was a string of murders around Bon Temps of women who were somehow connected to vampires and my grandmother was one of them, except she wasn't the one that was supposed to die, she just got killed because she was in the way. Sookie was the intended victim but she wasn't home when the killer broke in and he instead killed our grandmother and Sookie was the one who found her. And after the funeral, it was just the three of us trying to move on. Some days are easier then others. But there are always those times during the year when the anniversaries of their deaths come up and I'm more difficult to deal with then any other time. But that's just how it always has been."_

_"I'm so sorry that you went through all that."_

_"It's just how it was, and I can't change any of it. This is how my life was supposed to turn out. I wish it hadn't but no amount of wishing will turn back time and bring these people back to life. I just have to accept it and move on. I don't want to feel sad anymore..."_

"But now I'm the one feeling sad for you." Elena said out loud, looking over her shoulder to the door to the bedroom and clenched her teeth at the sadness that she felt for the girl who was inside the room sleeping.

She had known that Allie's life had been filled with a lot of hardship but what she had imagined was nothing compared to what she had actually heard. Elena knew how bad it had felt to lose her parents so she could relate to Allie on that level. But to lose your aunt and uncle 8 months before that and then your grandmother just recently, Elena didn't know how Allie was still functioning normally. And that was without taking into account all the trauma of the past year she had gone through with the Fellowship and her problems with Eric. All in all, Allie shouldn't have been able to be the person that she was with all the death and horrible things she had to deal with. But she was standing tall with her head high despite all that. And Elena found that incredibly moving. She didn't know how the girl was doing it but she was. Allie was able to withstand so much turmoil and still come out believing that happiness was possible.

And Elena wanted that for Allie. If anyone deserved happiness it was Allison Stackhouse.

* * *

_That night_

_Knock, Knock_

"Who the heck is that?" I asked Elena as we both looked towards the front door at the sound and wondered who it was on the other side. Elena shrugged and got up to answer it with a tiny smile on her face that suggested she did know who had come over. I watched her grab the door handle with a little too much excitement in her body language and pull open the door only to reveal two pale faced immortals that stepped through the doorway with smiles on their lips. I found myself smiling at the sight of the Salvatore brothers, especially at Damon who was looking me over as if he was expecting to see something was wrong. And when he found nothing, he crossed his arms and smirked, an action that I had secretly come to enjoy seeing. I sat up further on the couch and ran my hands through my hair and grinned. "So I have more visitors, how fun."

"I figured you might like that." Elena answered before they could, smiling wickedly as she took her place by Stefan's side. Her eyes conveyed that she was responsible for their presence and I'm guessing it was due to the fact that she had gotten me to admit that I liked Damon. Oh I was so going to get her back for this.

"Elena told us that you went ahead and gave Godric a lot of blood. And we just wanted to see how you were doing." Stefan spoke up with a gentle smile, no barrier between his words and his concern. He was being genuine and sincere and I appreciated that a lot.

"I'm fine now. I mean, I'm still tired and weak but I don't feel as bad as I did this morning when I called Elena." I explained, remembering how run down my body had felt when I woke up and I made a mental note never to give that much at one time. My body couldn't handle losing that much blood in one sitting. "This whole resurrection process is going to be a lot harder then I thought."

"Damn it to hell Bonnie." Elena muttered as she clutched Stefan's hand. "I could kill her."

"No you couldn't." I shook my head at Elena and fought the urge to smile at her protectiveness. "You can't kill Bonnie."

"But I could." Damon spoke up for the first time and I turned toward him to see a suggestive look on his face. "She's letting you go through pain. Why not do the same to her?"

"Not the same thing." I told him, rolling my eyes but I smiled at him anyway. "Just because we don't agree with her decision doesn't mean you can just go and kill her, Damon."

"Relax, I was just kidding." Damon protested, holding up his hands. "Well, partially kidding.

"You are so typical." Elena commented before she left Stefan's side and walked over to where I was sitting and sat down with an apprehensive look on her face. "Allie, would it be ok if I left with Stefan now to spend time with him?"

"Yea of course. You've been here all day with me. You should go and have fun. I'll be fine by myself." I assured her, pulling her over to me for a hug to show I was grateful for her being here with me. "Thank you for staying with me. I appreciate it more then I can say."

"That's what friends do for each other." She replied with a grin, standing up and looking down at me. "You'll be ok, for real?"

"Yes, mom." I rolled my eyes for the second time and waved her away. "I will be perfectly ok."

"Yes you will, because I will be sticking around to make sure of that." Damon stated, causing the three of us to shoot looks at each other before turning to all stare at the dark haired vampire who was leaning against my counter and shrugging. "Only if you want me to."

"That may not be a bad idea." I nodded, meeting his eyes and for the briefest of seconds as I stared into his blue orbs I was momentarily transfixed. "Alright, you can stay for a while."

"Good decision."

* * *

_30 minutes later_

"Can I ask you something?" Damon found himself asking Allison as he sat on the other end of the couch from her and stretched his arm across the back of it as he looked at her. He was glad he had decided to come over when Stefan told him what the situation was. Because by the looks of it, this girl needed someone to look after her. She wouldn't say it again, but he could see the exhaustion in her eyes and that's what brought him to ask her a question. "I have to admit that I am curious about something."

"And what would that be?" She asked back, narrowing her eyes as she sat up and pulled her hair over her shoulders. "What has the great Damon Salvatore so curious?"

"Well I am pretty great if I do say so myself." He replied smugly, looking at her as she visibly rolled her eyes and pretended to vomit at what he said. "But in all seriousness, I just wanted to know something. And it has to do with what you did for Godric."

"Ok, what exactly do you want to know?" She wondered, her pretty face twisting into a curious look and she sat back against the pillows of the couch to study him. "What?"

"Why are you doing this?" He blurted out, watching as his question appeared to confuse her and he quickly backtracked so he could make better sense. "I mean, why do you feel so inclined to resurrect him?"

"Honestly?" She asked and when he nodded, she continued with a smile. "Because he appeared to me many times when I had been abducted by the Fellowship and he was always there to offer an encouraging word and urge me to hold on. It was because of him that I didn't succumb to death and give up on life. He insisted that I go back and live my life and I obviously did. And I am so grateful to him for that. So the least I could do is help him come back to life."

"You feel indebted to him." Damon observed, pressing his lips together at the thought. It was a strange concept to him to see a human sticking to their word to help a vampire. It was something he himself had never encountered until now. "You feel a desperate need to pay him back."

"I guess you could say that." Allison nodded in agreement. "I mean, when I was being tortured, it was 100% because of him that I didn't give in to the pain. He pushed me to go on and I just want to give something back to him."

"You seem as loyal as a doormat., always there to be stepped on by anyone." Damon pointed out, amused when her mouth dropped open in shock. "I mean, you just seem to go with how you view the world works and that includes paying back someone who isn't technically alive just because you think it's proper etiquette. And I get the feeling that people have always expected that of you and you never fight back against. Hence why I call you a doormat."

"You're a real piece of work." Allison snapped, sitting up with fury in her eyes. "I am not a doormat because I am involving myself in this whole Godric thing. I'm doing it because it is the right thing to do. You should try it some time."

"Whoa whoa whoa, relax, I was just kidding. Kind of." Damon laughed at her expression. "God you take things so personally."

* * *

_2 hours later_

"You know what? I think I am ok enough to be by myself." I told Damon a few hours later as we sat on the couch side by side and stared at the TV screen together. This was what we had been doing since we had talked about the Godric situation and since then nothing else had really been said and there hadn't been a need to until now. I was getting tired and I wanted to turn in for the night but first I had to get the vampire out of my apartment. I turned my head to meet his eyes and nodded to the door. "You can leave. I'll be ok."

"Are you sure that is what you want?" He asked, a smirk threatening to take over his face.

"What exactly are you hinting at Mr. Salvatore?" I wondered, knowing none of his answers could be that good.

"I could always sleep over if you want." He suggested, raising his eyebrows as he practically begged me to say yes and I couldn't help but smile at his expression. Never the less, he seemed to get that I was serious and slapped his knees before standing up. "Alright, alright. I'm going."

"Thank you for hanging out with me." I said, honestly grateful for his company that night as I too stood up and walked him over to the door, our hands occasionally brushing against each other as we moved side by side. I watched him reach for the door handle and twist it open and step into the hallway only to lean against the door frame with his arms crossed as he looked down at me. I stood there in front of him, taking in the sudden way I was aware of how he smelt and smiled. There was something that had changed between us in the last couple of nights. Something that was beginning to make me realize that Damon was not the vampire that he claimed to be when we first met 2 months ago. He was slowly showing his lighter side and letting down that guard he so fiercely kept up. It was insight to the man that he really was rather then the asshole that he claimed to be. But I was also starting to realize that there was always going to be more asshole moments then there were nice moments. But that didn't cancel out the nice moments because although they were few and far between, they counted. "I appreciate you doing this. I know it's not how you usually spend your nights so thanks for giving up your time."

"Well I was hoping that spending time with you would finally start getting us somewhere, but sadly it hasn't happened." He smirked, uncurling his arms and dropping them down to his side before he raised his hand and touched his fingers to my face. It happened so quickly and so gently that I didn't even have a moment to be surprised and I just stood there, feeling his fingers caress my cheek and travel across my jawline. I couldn't draw my eyes away from him and just stood there watching his face as he continued to move his hand until he was cupping my cheek and running his thumb across my bottom lip, chilling me with his touch. I watched his mouth curl up into a smile before he asked. "So...when are you finally going to let me kiss you?"

"When you stop being an asshole." I answered back with a smirk of my own, delighted that he was thinking about kissing me as much as I was thinking about kissing him. I brought my hand up to meet his, curling my fingers around his fingers and grinned. "The day you stop doing asshole things, is the day that you get lucky enough to kiss me."

"So that means never?" He asked, pressing his lips together in amusement

"Exactly."


	18. Seriously

**Chapter 18 Seriously**

_A few days later_

"Alright, let's get one thing perfectly clear before we head out for this night of fun." I told Elena the second we both climbed into her car and shut the doors. She went to put the key into the ignition but I grabbed them out of her hand before she could turn the car on and held them just out of reach.

"Seriously? You're taking my keys?" She asked, her face a cross between amusement and annoyance as she sat there behind the wheel with her arms crossed. "For what reason might I ask?"

"Think about it Elena." I said, raising my eyebrows at her as I hooked my finger through the loop of the key holder and sighed. "We're going to hang out with Stefan and Damon tonight."

"Yea and your point is what?" She frowned, sitting back against the seat looking thoroughly confused. I shook my head, wanting to laugh at her obliviousness to what we had been talking about for the last few days whenever we were around each other. It was all that had come up and it was interesting that she would forget about it the one night when we were actually going to be spending time with the subject of our conversations.

I was of course referring to every talk we had been having since the day I had admitted to liking Damon. It seemed like that just saying those words had opened up a flood gate of emotions that I just wasn't quite prepared for. And Elena and I had discussed that. Because admitting that I was feeling something for Damon was crossing a line to a point of no return. Because now that I was saying something was there, it was meaning that I was moving on to someone else. And I just wasn't sure if it was something I was truly ready for. I mean, I had been in love with Eric for so long, even after he had broken my heart, I was still very much in love with him. And even after I moved away I still carried him with me in my heart, despite all the time I tried to pretend that he didn't exist. One heart breaking moment didn't immediately erase the love I felt for him even though I wished it did. Because now that I was starting to like Damon, I was remembering what it felt like to be attracted to someone and it brought up all my unresolved issues with Eric. And I knew those issues weren't going to be fixed until I went home and faced him, but I was no where near ready for that. My chest still stung with the memory of what happened and although it had recently started to ease up, it was still there. And I had a feeling it always would be.

And then there was Damon himself. It was hard enough for me to admit I was attracted to someone on a normal basis, but for it to be another vampire was on a whole new playing field. Especially a vampire that so closely reminded me of Eric. They were just so similar in their attitudes and behaviors and mannerisms. And I at first thought that could be the reason why I was attracted to him. But as time went on and I spent more time with him, I found that Damon was much more different then Eric then I first thought. There was something in Damon's eyes the first time we looked at each other that I hadn't realized until now what it had been that affected me so. And then it hit me. He had looked at me the way a man looked at a women. He may have been a vampire but he first looked at me with desire and not hunger. It was quite a departure from the expression in Eric's eyes when we had our first encounter. Eric stared at me like I was the most delectable meal that he would ever taste and knowing what I was, I could imagine that being true. But Damon never looked at me like that. Oh I don't doubt that the idea passed through his mind, especially when he attacked me in the parking lot and bit me. But there was never a time when I looked at him and saw an expression of hunger in his eyes. It either didn't exist for him, or he was just very good at hiding it. Either way, the way Damon made me feel when I was around him, brought back all these unresolved issues and that made my feelings for him even more confusing and unclear.

And that was why Elena and I had spent so much time discussing it this week. But now that we were heading over to the Salvatore house to spend time with them, I just wanted to make sure that Elena knew our conversations stayed between us. I knew her well enough by now to know that even if she didn't mean it, she could possibly jump up and say something relating to what we had discussed and that was something I definitely did not want.

"Elena, all this talk about Damon this week has frazzled my last nerves and I can't take another jolt to my system. So when we get to the house, you're going to keep your mouth shut." I ordered, pointing my finger in her direction. "You're not going to directly or indirectly bring up anything we have talked about."

"I promise I won't." She held her hands up in defense.

"No joking, no muttering under your breath, no side long glances." I rallied off with my fingers as I watched her start to smirk and exclaimed. "And no giggling! That will be a giant sign that says something is up."

"Ok ok, I get the point. I will pretend I know nothing about what you told me and act like I am completely in the dark." Elena agreed, clenching her jaw and shaking her head rapidly before she went still and grinned. "God, you must really like Damon if you are getting so adamant about me not dropping any hints."

"Shut up, that's not what is important right now." I groaned, slumping down in my seat. "The only thing that matters is that you do not say anything that will embarrass me."

"I said I get the picture. Now give me back my keys." Elena laughed, reaching out and snatching them out of my hand before sticking them in the ignition. As the engine came to life and she started driving, she looked back over to me and smiled. "Oh man. You have got it so bad for Damon."

"Just shut up and drive."

* * *

_1 hour later_

"Do you really think it was that good of an idea to leave those two alone together?" Elena asked Stefan as she and him stepped out the back door and began walking across the moonlit filled lawn with their arms intertwined together. "I mean, you know how Damon is. And that is when he is just by himself. But he's alone with Allie and they have been known to explode on each other on more then one occasion."

"That's true, but it could be good for them to have time alone. Maybe it will help them learn to get along better." Stefan suggested, turning his face to meet hers and he grinned, an action that seemed to make her stomach flip over a million times in just a matter of 2 seconds. He leaned over to press his cold lips against her forehead before tightening his grip. "We can't always be around them to stop them from biting each others heads off. They have to figure it out on their own."

"But I think that is part of the reason why there seems to be so much sexual tension between them. Them fighting all the time only seems to heighten things and I think they both secretly enjoy it." Elena pointed out, leaning her cheek against Stefan's shoulder as they strolled. "At least it hasn't turned violent."

"Not yet anyways." Stefan laughed, his voice coming from deep inside of him. "But even if it did, I have a feeling Allison can hold her own against Damon. And that would be a first. Damon has never come across someone he is interested in who can not only call him on his crap but also overpower him when need be."

"I think it pisses him off." Elena commented, remembering the expression in Damon's eyes the night they all witnessed Allie's display of power. He looked like he had never been challenged before and the fury in his eyes had scared her. "He's already proud and smug as it is without even throwing in the vampire factor. And to have someone who is more human then he is throw him around like nothing has got to be a blow to his ego."

"Yes, but I think it has taken him down a few notches. And that's always a good thing." Stefan replied as they began walking along the outer edge of the property. "Damon needs to realize that he isn't always going to have the upper hand in every situation. And he isn't the most powerful being in the world."

"He just thinks he is." Elena giggled, rolling her eyes at the thought of the other vampire back at the house. "But as much as he is egotistical and self centered and a complete asshole, I still can't help but feel like I..."

"...want him to be happy." Stefan finished for her as they came to a stop by the outer door to the garage and he turned to look down at her. "I know because I feel the same way."

"You do?" Elena asked, surprised because they had never really talked much about Damon being happy even though he was Stefan's brother.

"Of course I do. Damon may be a lot of things but he is my brother and I will always want the best for him. No matter what he does." Stefan explained, touching his hands to her waist as he drew her forward. "I can't stand the way he acts or how he always has to say the most inappropriate things or just how he is in general. But I'm always going to have his back. And that means wishing that he finds happiness in some form."

"Look at you getting all sentimental." Elena grinned, raising her arms up around his shoulders and holding him tightly to her as she pressed her forehead against his. "It's sweet to hear you talk about your brother like that. It reminds me of how Jeremy and I are. And I'm happy to see that you would never turn away from your own family no matter what they do or say."

"That's always how I've been and I don't see it changing anytime soon." Stefan said quietly, his own arms circling her waist as he spoke. "Damon and I have had our differences over the years and we will never fully get along. But he is my family and you don't turn your back on your family for any reason."

"You are a very sweet brother you know that?" Elena grinned, locking her hands behind Stefan's neck and pulling his face down to meet hers so she could kiss his lips. The sparkle that ignited when their mouths met still took her by surprise, a surprise that she would never get tired of. And when she pulled back, she saw the smile on his pale face and she grinned even further. "Who would have thought that talking about Damon would end in something positive?"

"It doesn't matter what we talk about, being around you is positive." Stefan stated, his hand coming up to cup the back of her head as his cool fingers got lost in her dark hair. "I love you. I just want you to know that."

"I do know that." Elena told him, reaching up to touch his face with her fingers and smirking when he leaned into his touch. "And I love you."

"And I will always know that." Stefan nodded, pulling her against his chest and wrapping her arms around her securely. She settled there in his embrace as silence fell on them for a minute and all they could hear was the whisper of the wind blowing through the bare branches of the trees in the distance. "You see, it's moments like these when I feel so happy and alive. Almost like I am human again and it makes me wish every vampire could experience this. Especially my brother."

"I think he tries to avoid feeling human as much as he can. I think it's too much for him." Elena sighed, tucking her head under Stefan's chin as she put her arms around his midsection and held on to him tightly. "I wish he was more open to this kind of thing but he's not. And that's just how Damon is."

"It's such a shame though, because if he weren't so closed off then he could have the opportunity to feel this happiness. And as his brother, I want that for him. I want him to have that chance at a truly full life. And if there is no love in your life, then what kind of life are you living?" Stefan questioned, his voice sounding confused as they stood there under the glare of the light coming from the building. "In other words, I want Damon to know the kind of happiness that you and I have."

"I wish everyone could know that happiness." Elena tilted her head back and smiled, feeling closer to Stefan then she ever had if that was possible. "But if we could make that happen for your brother then I will be satisfied with that."

"Well, as much as I think that he and Allison would be good together, Damon has to be open to the idea and I don't think he is there just yet." Stefan shrugged before he pulled away and she was delighted to see a wicked grin on his face. "But since that answer obviously didn't satisfy you, allow me the chance to make it happen in other ways."

"You are so bad." Elena giggled, allowing Stefan to take her by the hand as he pulled open the door to the high ceiling garage and shuffled them inside. The door had barely been shut and locked before Stefan turned to face her with a look that could only be described as naughty. Elena crossed her arms, clicking her tongue between her teeth as she watched him. "What are you doing?"

Stefan didn't answer her. Instead he walked forward, reaching out for her face with both his hands and pulled her to him, kissing her lips hungrily as if he had been waiting forever to have her alone. Elena found herself responding as she always did, bringing her hands to his waist and her fingers brushing against his strong hips as they pressed themselves together. He may have been a strong vampire, but he was as gentle as a human male with her, picking her up in his arms and walking over to a hidden spot in the corner and laid her down on the pile of blankets that were there. Elena grinned, reaching for the bottom of his shirt just as he finished pulling off her jacket and was working on her sweater. He threw her clothing on the floor, kissing her collarbone and his lips sucked on the skin at the base of her neck causing her to groan out loud.

"Seriously? We're going to do this in the garage?" She asked, watching Stefan climb over her and hover on his hands with a wicked little grin on his immortal face. "Seriously?"

"Why not?" He asked, moving down to brush his lips over hers light before looking up into her eyes and touching her cheek with his fingers. "I love you Elena."

"And I love you Stefan."

* * *

_45 minutes later_

"Uh where the heck is your brother and Elena?" Allison asked, sitting back on the chair she had been settled in for the past hour and crossed her feet as she clutched the glass of wine in her hand and turned her face to look at him.

"Come on Allison. Don't be so naïve." Damon replied with a smirk, raising his mug of blood to his lips and taking a long sip while he stretched out on the lounge chair on the small moonlit balcony and stared at her knowingly. "You know what they are doing."

"I'm not naïve, I just didn't think they would be off doing that." She shot back with a glare, shaking her head and looking forward again. "I may look innocent but I know how the world works and I know how you vampires are. So don't call me naïve."

"Someone is on edge tonight." He teased, watching the way her body tensed up and knew he had hit it right on the head. "Care to share it with me?"

"No, I don't think I will." She replied, setting her glass on the table and pulling her legs up to her chest and turned her body in his direction. "I knew tonight was going to be like this."

"Don't complain sweetheart." He rolled his eyes at her response, locking his hands behind his head and kicking his long legs out straight in front of him. "Besides, you know you are enjoying my company."

"Surprisingly I am." Allison nodded, a small laugh escaping her lips as she ran her hand through her hair and looked out at the tree tops and the moon. "For once, I don't mind being here. Alone with you."

Damon grinned slightly before he fell back in his seat and went silent as he too stared out in to the night and thought about what she had said. If he had a beating heart, it's pace would have picked up at her words. But he didn't have a heart, he was a cold monster and always would be. But still, her response filled his chest up with a warmth that he hadn't felt in quite a while. It was rare for him to feel something like this and he couldn't deny it when it appeared. Her words did that to him because it wasn't all that often that a human said something like that to him. In fact, no human had ever spoken to him with anything but fear in their voice. But not Allison. Although he had been antagonizing her since the night they met almost 2 months ago, she never seemed to be ready to run in the other direction when they were around each other. And he wasn't used to that. It was such a foreign concept to him because he was used to having to chase after others for company and she wasn't following his pre-set rules. Normally humans would spot him and take off for the hills, even though they could never out run him. And when they did stay in place, they were always fidgeting, acting nervous whenever he spoke to them and their expressions never changed. They were always full of fear and apprehension. It wouldn't matter if his whole demeanor was different and he was a nice guy, he was a vampire and people would always look at him differently because of that. It wouldn't matter if he was the kind of vampire Stefan was, humans were always going to look at him as if he weren't worthy.

"What has you so quiet?" Allison's voice broke through his cloud of thoughts and he turned his head to see her watching him intently, almost as if she were trying to read his mind and she couldn't so she had taken to watching his body language to figure it out. "I've never seen you look so pensive."

"I have my moments." He replied, sitting up and then got to his feet so he could walk over to the stone railing and lean against it with his arms crossed. "Just doing some hard core thinking."

"You have thoughts?" She smirked, her delicate little shoulders shaking as she laughed for a second. But then her expression turned less comical and she moved to the edge of her chair and leaned forward slightly with her fingers twirling in her hair. "Seriously, what were you thinking about that made you go so silent?"

"Just realizing that you are probably going to be the only human besides Elena who can spend time around me without flinching and looking terrified all the time." He explained, turning his focus on her and watching as the light from the moon caught her face and made her look more angelic then she already did. He simply shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "You don't understand how it is. To have people look at you all the time and automatically be afraid of you because you're not like them..."

"You think I don't get that too?" She asked, shaking her head and stood up to come over to where he was standing and she turned her back against the railing and looked at him. "Damon, I may not be a vampire, but that doesn't mean I get treated any better then you do."

"Last time I checked you were getting treated better." He shot back, rolling his eyes deeply before he spoke again. "You're closer to human then I am and..."

"And that doesn't mean crap. Because as soon as people find out that I can read their thoughts, I get treated like a second class citizen. They look at me the way they look at you, like I'm not normal because of what I can do. So don't think that I don't have it as bad as you do, I definitely do. It just may take longer for it happen then it does for you." She told him, gripping the edges of the stone as she pressed her lips together. "We're never going to be looked at any differently then we are now. We are just how we are and nothing will change that. And that's ok. I don't care if people think I'm weird. Their opinions don't matter."

"Easy for you to say. People don't automatically start backing away whenever you enter the room." Damon snapped, never realizing before now how much it annoyed him that he was treated as the monster that he was. But talking to Allison about it seemed to have brought it up to the surface for him. "Everyone is scared of me and rightfully so."

Allison didn't answer back and he was glad for it. He didn't know if he wanted to hear what she had to say. He didn't need to hear every thought he had confirmed by her. So he stayed silent and so did she. The only sound came from the wind blowing through the trees and from the occasional owl calling from the forest, other then that, neither of them made any noise. At least not until the second when he heard her move beside him and he looked over to see she had turned her head to look at him with an unreadable expression in her eyes. He was about to ask her why the hell she was looking at him like that when she did something he wasn't expecting. It happened so quickly that he wouldn't have been able to stop it if he wanted to. One minute there was space between them and the next there nothing as she moved right up to his side and slide her hand in front of them so her fingers curled over his tightly closed fists. He was so shocked by her actions that his grip fell open and she placed her hand right in his palm, curling her fingers around his without even the slightest hesitation. He looked down at their joined hands, not remembering what it felt like to see this kind of sight and then he looked at her, shocked to see her gentle smile and even more shocked by what she said.

"You don't scare me Damon."

* * *

_10 minutes later_

"Oh man. What was I thinking?" I said out loud to myself, as I stood there against the kitchen counter with my loose hair falling passed my reddened cheeks and shook my head at my stupidity. "I never should have gotten that close to Damon."

I felt myself shudder as I remembered the moment up there on the second story balcony when I had slipped my hand into his in the silence of the night before I had told him I wasn't afraid of him. It wasn't that I was doubting my words because I wasn't, I knew it wasn't afraid of Damon at all. At least not in that sense. I don't know what led me to think I felt comfortable enough to move closer to him and push the boundaries of our relationship but I did. Listening to him speak had sparked something inside of me and I felt like the situation was oddly intimate because it was the first time that Damon had truly opened up to me and I wanted to hold on to that moment. And maybe that was what possessed me to reach out and take his hand as if he were any other normal person. But in that moment, he was just a normal person. He was Damon Salvatore and he needed my assurance that there was one human in the world who didn't fear him. So that's why I closed the distance between us and touched him, partially because it seemed fitting and mostly because I wanted to. I wanted to touch his skin and feel him. It was different then the night I had embraced him for the first time. It was completely different because tonight after I had touched him, he looked at me in a way he never had before. And I was hit with the sense that if I didn't get out of there soon then he might push passed any line that was left between us and do something there was no coming back from.

And that was why I had excused myself, slipping away and telling him I was going to get a glass of water and I had escaped here to the kitchen to gather myself before I faced him again. I needed just a few minutes to talk myself down because if I didn't then I might go ahead and do something that I could possibly kick myself for later. But I didn't get as much time as I wanted because I heard a gust of wind swoop through the doorway and it was obvious that a vampire had followed me down here and when I turned around, it was the very vampire I was trying to avoid.

"Damon don't do that. You scare me when you just appear like that." I said, feeling my heartbeat increase but I don't think it was from being surprised. I think it was from something else entirely. I looked up at him standing before me in his usual black attire, making his blue eyes even bluer then normal and I asked. "Are you ok? You look like you want to say something."

"That's because I do." He answered back, taking a step towards me which in turn forced me to take a step away and my back came in contact with the counter and I had no where to go. Damon was the one who had closed the space between us this time and I wasn't able to pull my gaze off him when I felt his fingers go under my chin and lift my heard up to meet his. He stared at me for a second and when he opened his mouth, I knew what he had to say was going to seal us in forever. "Can I kiss you now?"

I couldn't even find any words to say when he asked me that and instead I just stood there, feeling my heart pound wildly inside of me as if it were trying to escape my chest. The sound of it filled my ears for a moment and I knew he could hear it because I saw his lips curl into a smirk and I felt his hand slide down from my face passed my neck and shoulders until he pressed his palm flat against my chest, right over the spot where my heart was beating against his cold fingers and he left it there. I watched his eyes, seeing that he was fascinated by feeling a beating heart again and I didn't try to push him away because honestly, I didn't want to. There I had said it. Even if it was only to myself, it still counted for something. And that was what gave me the courage to reach out and touch him again. My fingers brushed against his chest, slowly making their way upward towards his face where I gently touched his pale, cool cheek and kept my eyes on him the whole time. His hand left the spot on my chest and instead came to rest on the counter behind me, trapping me against one of his arms as he brought his face closer to mine.

I could feel his cool breath fall on my cheek, chilling me in a nervous and almost excited way that I hadn't felt in a very long time. His body was closer now, his chest almost touching mine as I could feel his lips against the skin of my neck, gently sucking on the main vein that he could have fed on if he wanted to, but he didn't. I found my eyes closing and my head falling back as I enjoyed that sensation that had always been a source of arousal for me. His free hand traveled up my side, brushing against my ribcage and his fingers coasting over the side of my breast, releasing a furious cloud of butterflies in my stomach. His mouth was now on my jaw, his lips getting closer and closer, his movements almost painfully slow. I was so tempted to just yell at him to kiss me already and he was nearly about to do it when...

_Ring...ring...ring_

"Fuck." I groaned upon hearing my phone going off inside my pocket and I pulled away from him at the same time he did, both of us seeming to break out of the haze we were in as I reached in to grab my cell phone. I didn't look at the screen and instead sent an apologetic look to Damon before grabbing a handful of his black shirt to ensure he stayed right where he was. I smiled and said, "Don't even think about going anywhere."

"That's hot the way you just gave me an order." He replied, a smirk already on his face as he looked down at me, his hands on either side of the counter as I tried to calm myself down. He could tell I was frazzled because he started laughing. "A little excited?"

"Shut up." I rolled my eyes at him as I fumbled with my ringing phone and was finally able to hit the button and put it to my ear while holding my free hand against Damon's mouth to keep him from saying anything and I grinned before saying "Hello?"

As soon as the caller spoke, I felt the smile disappear from my lips and all the blood drained from my face as I was sure I had now become as pale as Damon was. My hand released the bunch of his shirt I had grabbed and my arm dropped to the side as my whole body was overcome with this fresh wave of coldness as I kept the phone to my ear and my head snapped up to meet Damon's questioning eyes. My lips were shaking and I could barely feel the rest of me as I struggled to form a single word to answer the person on the other end of the line.

"Eric..."


	19. Haunted

**Chapter 19 Haunted**

"Eric...uh...what are you...why are you...um..." I struggled to land on one word that would complete a sentence at asking why he was calling me out of the blue and tried to reign in the shaky and painful way I was breathing at the moment. But it was next to impossible. I think I was in shock because I hadn't expected to hear his voice on this night or any night. It had been almost 2 months since I had left and he hadn't trued at all to contact me. Maybe because I had asked him to give me my space and he was just respecting my wishes. But then what the hell made him decide to pick up the phone now and make contact? I went to meet Damon's eyes but I was shocked to look up and find that he was no longer standing in front of me. He wasn't even in the room and the next minute I heard the front door open and then slam shut, signifying that he had left the house entirely. This was not good. Not good at all. Because the moment I had said Eric's name, I had seen the briefest flash of sadness in Damon's eyes before I had become numb to everything around me. And now Damon was gone and this couldn't end well for anyone.

"Talk to me, Allison." Eric husky voice spoke from the other end of the line, bringing me back to the matter at hand and I found a shiver going down my spine when he talked. Damn it. His voice still had that effect on me, able to cause a reaction within my body that no man had ever been able to do. But then I remembered the pain and the anguish and it all came right back, slamming into me like a 2 ton weight and it took all I had not to burst into tears right then and there. "I need you to hear me..."

I hit the end button, silencing Eric's voice and stuffed the phone in my back pocket. I couldn't stand to listen to him anymore. It was too fresh and hearing his voice just made everything feel so raw and more painful then it was to begin with. One day I would be able to face dealing with Eric again and it would face to face, not over the phone. And maybe then we could address the problem. But not now. Not tonight. Because my mind wasn't focused on Eric, it was on another vampire who was currently missing from the house and I had to go out and find him before he did something stupid. I had just left the kitchen and ran into the living room to grab my coat and throw it on when the front door opened and in walked Stefan with Elena, both frowning and looking thoroughly confused. When Elena set her eyes on me, she came right over, dropping her jacket on the back of a chair before she stood there with her arms crossed.

"Allie, what the hell just happened?" She asked, looking back at Stefan who had entered the room with a pensive look on his face. "We were just walking back here when we saw Damon run out and sped away from the house like something was wrong and we thought the worst. What happened between you two?"

"What didn't happen?" I groaned, slapping myself in the forehead as I finished pushing my arms into my jacket. "Damon and I were in the kitchen and not to get too into details, we were about to kiss and..."

"Oh my god, you guys were going to have your first kiss together." Elena squealed, clapping her hands together like a child and jumped up and down on the balls of her feet in excitement. "That is so cute."

"Elena, focus please." I told her, trying and failing to not roll my eyes at her reaction and just sighed. "Anyway, we were about to kiss when my phone rang and it turned out to be Eric."

"Eric? Your ex?" Stefan asked in clarification, his dark eyebrows knitting tightly as he spoke. "He called you right before Damon was about to kiss you? Oh my brother must be pissed."

"He did look kind of upset." I commented, remembering the look on Damon's face and I felt myself cringe. He wouldn't admit it ever, but he had looked disappointed and if I were honest, then I would say I was disappointed as well. I shook my head and looked at Stefan and Elena. "Look, I have to go out and find him. I don't want him wandering the streets in this kind of mood."

"Do you want us to go with you?" Stefan offered in only the way he could and I just smiled and shook my head no.

"I should really do this on my own." I told them,knowing it was the right thing to do. This was my problem with Damon and I was going to be the one to fix it alone. With my jacket on and my cell phone in my pocket, I waved goodbye and left the house, slamming the door behind me and standing out in the cold night with the dark tree line surrounding the property. I didn't even know where to start to look for Damon, but I had to just jump right in and search. I didn't want things to end the way they had.

* * *

_20 minutes later_

"Damon wait up. We need to talk."

Damon paused in his tracks on the empty street he was on and looked over his shoulder at the figure in the distance that was running to catch up with him and he had the sudden urge to ignore her and just keep on walking as he had since he left the house almost half an hour ago. It would be so easy for him to leave her behind, all he had to do was use his speed and he would be gone before she could take another step. He didn't really feel the need to talk to her right now. After all, what was there to say? Really there was nothing if you asked him. It was just the way it was. They had a moment that was about to evolve into something else when she had gotten that call from her ex and then it was gone and so was the spark in her eye. He had made himself slightly more vulnerable and it had been shot down. So now he had to regain control. And that could be easily done if he were to just ignore her and do what he normally did and that was to seduce humans and feed on them to fill the void in his chest. But he didn't. Instead he just stood there and waited, waited for her to catch up to him and when she finally did, he crossed his arms and looked down at her.

"You're here now. So talk since that's what you've been chasing me down for." He told her, watching her put her hands on her hips and taking a moment to calm down her breathing since she had been running for who knows how long. He could sense her heart pounding rapidly inside of her as she stood there and he almost wanted to reach out and feel it again just like he had in the kitchen.

"Look...I'm sorry." She blurted out, her first sentence taking him by surprise and he visibly took a step back with a frown filling his face as she looked at him. "I mean that Damon. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I..."

"Sorry for what exactly?" He asked, but he already had a feeling of what she was going to say and he only asked so he would be the one in charge of the conversation. He needed to fight for control tonight. He had lost his power when he made himself vulnerable to her and he had to get it back, even if that meant not being very nice. But then again, when had he ever been nice? "You're apologizing for something and I have no idea what you're referring to. You humans never make any sense."

"Come on Damon. You know what I am talking about so don't pretend that you don't know." She snapped, dropping her arms down to her sides as her breathing became more steady and her heartbeat returned to normal. She walked up to him, her vibrant green eyes catching his blue ones and she placed her hand on his arm and then said in a quiet voice. "You just looked upset back there when Eric called."

"Oh please." He scoffed, shrugging her hand off of him and the moment he did, he found that he was already missing her touch. But he couldn't let that show, he couldn't let his weakness over a stupid girl show. "You are sadly mistaken sweetheart."

"No, I don't think I am." She protested, a frown filling her face and she continued walking toward him even as he backed away. "I saw the look on your face before you left. And you looked upset. I saw it."

"You saw nothing." He hissed, stopping in his tracks and grabbing her by the arms so she would stop moving and held her apart from him. His sudden actions took her by surprise, he could see it in her eyes, but she wasn't afraid of him. And in certain ways, he wished she was. He wanted her to see him for the monster that he was. And he would make that happen. To show her how heartless he was because he didn't have a heart and he didn't feel emotions. He wasn't Stefan for crying out loud. He was just Damon, and that's how he had been for the past 145 years and no human was going to change something that was impossible to be undone. He tightened his grip on her and sent a glare down into her eyes so she got his point. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear to you. I don't get upset over things like that, I'm a vampire and you shouldn't expect me to feel much of anything, if at all."

"Damon..." She began to speak up but he had such an urge to silence her that he said the one thing that he knew would shut her up and get her away from him.

"Besides, it's not like you mean anything to me." He shot back at her, watching as her pretty face crumbled before him and he smirked in satisfaction as he let her go. He had done his damage and now he was going to leave her here. "I told you I wasn't the good guy and I never will be. The sooner you accept that the better."

* * *

_15 minutes later_

"Well well well. Look who finally decided to come back and join the rest of the world."

Stefan rolled his eyes at his brother's comment as both he and Elena watched Damon stroll in through the front door and toss his leather jacket over the side of a nearby table and sit down as if it had been any other normal night. But it wasn't, in fact it was far from it. Especially after they had found out the reason for Damon's disappearance from the house. When Allison had explained about the moment the two of them had almost shared and how it had been interrupted by the call from Eric, it was like a light had gone off in Stefan's head and he knew exactly why Damon had run off the way he had. It's not like it wasn't obvious before now, but it had never gotten as far as it did until this night. This night had changed everything between those two. And now Damon had walked in as if he couldn't have been bothered by it. But Stefan knew better. He knew his brother hated looking vulnerable and he would try and push it aside and pretend it wasn't real but there was only so long that he could do that before it came exploding out.

"I assume Allison found you." Stefan said, watching Damon walk over the mini bar and pull out a bottle of blood he had stolen from a blood bank and began gulping it down as if it had been a beer. Stefan rolled his eyes for the second time and said. "I guess that would be a yes."

"Yea she found me and she tried to apologize like she had hurt my feelings or something. How ridiculous is that?" Damon asked, turning to face the room while leaning against the table with his legs crossed. "She seems to think I was I upset over her ex calling..."

"And you weren't?" Elena asked, sounding doubtful about whatever answer Damon would spit out and Stefan was glad she had said it because he was also thinking the same thing. "Because I think you are upset. You just won't admit it."

"You seem to think you have it all figure out don't you Elena?" Damon questioned while he walked over to the chair by the fire and dropped down into the cushions, swirling the blood in the bottle as he moved. "Well you are wrong. I will tell you what I told her. I'm not like Stefan and I don't get upset over these kind of things. And she doesn't mean anything to me."

"I so doubt that." Stefan shot back, his tone harsher then he was used to using on anyone, including his own brother. He left his spot next to Elena on the couch and went to stand in front of Damon with his arms crossed and his dark eyes boring down into his brother's face. "You have not gone one night without bringing her up somehow in conversation. So she obviously means something to you and if she didn't then you wouldn't have run out the second it turned out her ex was calling."

"It does sound like jealousy Damon." Elena nodded in agreement and she too stood up and walked over to the two vampires and looked down at the dark haired one with an almost sympathetic expression on her face. "You can deny it all you want, but we all know you were jealous tonight."

"And why would I possibly be jealous?"

"Because the one girl that you've been thinking about for almost 2 months put you in a vulnerable position and you were that close to getting something from her that you've been wanting since you two met." Stefan explained, looking at Elena who nodded for him to go on. "You want her Damon, I can see it in your eyes and not just for her blood. You just want her. And you would have had her tonight. But then Eric called and ruined what should have been your first kiss with her. And you take off. And that tells me that you were disappointed you couldn't take that next step with her like you've been wanting to do for a long time now. You were jealous because her attention was pulled away by someone else and it wasn't on you any more. You care about her Damon and I'm sure if you just tell her that then she would do the same."

"You see, that's where you're wrong little brother. Everything you just said is complete crap. I don't have feelings for her. I don't want her for anything more then just a little fun. She is just a challenge to me and as soon as I have her then I will get bored and move on as I always have. And we all know this. So let's not try and make this situation into something that it's not. I do not care for her, so stop thinking that I do."

Stefan stepped aside as Damon got up from the chair and moved passed them towards the staircase and with a gust of wind, he was gone. Stefan turned to look at Elena and she simply shrugged and reached out to take his hand, an action that would have made him smile if it hadn't been for the concern he had for his brother's happiness, or lack there of. Damon had to stop lying to his own self because if he didn't, then he may never get what he truly wanted.

* * *

_Back at the apartment_

"Oh man, if there was ever a time I needed to talk to my cousin, it would be right now." I said out loud as I let myself into my apartment and kicked the door shut behind me before throwing my bag and jacket on the counter and hopping up onto the stool and grabbing the phone with shaky hands. I was still completely freaked out by how tonight had ended and not just with the way Damon had talked to me, but mostly because of the call from Eric. Hearing his voice for the first time since I had left had shaken me up more then I ever thought it would. And I needed to talk to Sookie in order to keep myself from going completely insane. So I dialed the familiar number and pressed the phone to my ear, knowing that when she picked up, she would make me feel better. She always did. And then I heard her voice after it had rung only twice and I excitedly rushed to respond. "Sookie, hello. I need to talk to you."

"Allie, what's wrong? You sound out of breath." Sookie replied as soon as I had started speaking and I could already hear the worry in her voice even though the conversation had just started. "What happened?"

"You're not going to believe how this night ended." I said in a frantic voice, forcing myself to stay seated as I spoke because I knew that jumping up and running around wouldn't do any good. "Let me start at the beginning. Do you remember that vampire I told you about? Damon Salvatore?"

"Yea, you've mentioned him." Sookie replied and I could detect a hint of amusement in her voice but I chose to ignore it.

"Ok, well, he and I have been spending time together since we first met and even though he always pushes my buttons and argues with me, I was starting to feel like there was a connection between us. But I never let it go any further then friendship. And then tonight I was at the house with him and there was a moment in the kitchen where he almost kissed me. But..."

"But what?" Sookie cut in, urging me to go on with my explanation. "You guys didn't kiss?"

"No! And you know why?" I exclaimed, gripping the phone so tightly that I was surprised I didn't break it. "Because Eric called right as it was about to happen."

"Oh." Sookie responded, her voice going quiet the second I stopped talking. "Well that was odd."

"You don't sound so surprised to hear this." I pointed out, a frown making it's way onto my face in an unexpected way. I was thinking that the moment I said Eric's name, Sookie would be all up in arms and screaming about it. But she wasn't. It was almost like it had no effect on her at all which made me suspicious. "Why don't you sound surprised?"

"Well...because I was the one who told him to call you." Sookie admitted, her confession taking me by surprise and I actually dropped the phone onto the carpet. When I went down to grab it I couldn't hear her speaking but I knew she was still there. And when I put it back to my ear and she heard my breathing, she spoke again. "Allie, don't get upset..."

"Why would you do that?" I demanded, feeling a wave of betrayal come over me. "Why would you tell him to call me after you know how I would..."

"Because he's not doing well, Allie that's why." My cousin said sounding more stern and business like then she had ever been before. I didn't even have a chance to respond before she charged ahead. "Eric is not doing well at all without you. He misses you even though he agreed to let you go. He's not acting like himself. He hasn't been with anyone since you left. He hasn't tried to seduce any other woman, he won't feed on any other human and he spends every night locked up in his office. Pam had to break down the door because he refused to unlock it. He's floundering and it's because he realizes that he lost the only thing he ever wanted and that was you. He made a mistake Allie. He wants you back..."

"I'm sorry but I can't listen to this right now. I have to go." I hung up the phone and dropped it on the counter with a thud and sat there with my eyes staring unfocused at my hands. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest and my body shook, feeling like I was close to hyperventilating because it felt like the whole apartment was closing in on me. I couldn't stay here. I needed out. I needed to be somewhere and I knew exactly where that place would be.

* * *

_40 minutes later_

"Allison? What's wrong?" Godric asked when the small figure appeared at the end of the tomb's tunnel and began making its way towards him, her steps small and unsteady, a sure sign that something was the matter. And he became more sure of this when she got closer to the moonlight separating them and her face came into view and so did the tight features and sad eyes. He stopped the pacing he had been doing before her arrival and came to a stop in the middle of the dirt hallway, keeping his eyes on her as she stood there with her arms at her sides and a defeated look on her face as her bag slid down to the ground and landed with a small thud that seemed to shake her out of her confining thoughts and meet his eye for the first time. Godric tilted his head to the side, studying her for as long as he could, trying to figure her out before he spoke. "What is it..."

"Don't Godric. Just don't." She interrupted, holding up her hand to keep him from saying anything more as she furiously shook her head. "I've had a bad night and a stressful night and I don't really want to hear your sympathy right now."

"I could help if you let me." He suggested, hoping she would take him up on his offer and talk to him. She looked like she needed to confide in someone because it was all over her face that something had happened to greatly upset her. And being that she was the one what was going to be bringing him back to life, the least he could do is offer her a sympathetic ear as an outlet for the pain she was clearly in. "I just want to …."

"Well what I want is to just do what I came here to do and go home. So just..just stop trying to be all nice and just let me give you tonight's supply of blood without this turning into a therapy session." She replied, pressing her lips together tightly as if to ward off any unwanted emotion and turned her head to the side before asking in a shaking voice. "Will you just let me do this?"

"Alright, we don't have to talk about it." He relented, knowing that if he pushed her too far then it could end up being detrimental for the both of them. So as much as he wanted to comfort her and get her to confide in him, he knew she would have to be the one to talk first. "But if that changes, then I am more then happy to listen."

"Thank you." She nodded, offering him a small smile before she sat down on the dirt floor and began digging around in her bag. "I would have done this back at the apartment, but I couldn't stay there. It was too confining."

"I know how that is." Godric agreed, looking around him at the tomb he had been trapped in for the better part of the year and wished more then anything that he could escape from it. But that would come in time, and that would be because of the efforts of the girl in front of him. Godric watched her as she placed an empty bottle on a small blanket in front of her before pulling out an I.V. tube and a medical needle and setting them down as well. He observed the way she shrugged her arms out of her jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her sweater on one arm before she clenched her fist and quickly inserted the needle into the pulsing vein on the inside of her elbow. He saw the look of pain flash through her eyes and asked in amazement. "How do you know how to do that?"

"I've been in the hospital enough times over the years donating blood to know how it's done properly." She explained, tapping the needle to her arm and then attaching the thin tube to it and directing the end into the empty bottle where blood began to slowly appear. Allison sat down with one knee propped up and her arm resting on top to allow enough leverage for the blood to flow before she set her attention on him. "You know, it's funny. Doctors always said that giving blood could save a life. But I never thought my blood could bring someone back to life. Quite a twist huh?"

"It's a twist I am grateful for, nevertheless." He said, sitting down on his side of the moonlight so they were on the same eye level and leaned forward with his arms resting on his knees and said. "You know, you don't have to do this for me. Putting yourself through this just seems incredibly barbaric and I would hate to know I was making you feel like this was forced upon you."

"Godric, I want to do this and I was prepared to do this when the first option failed. So don't question me about this. I'm sure of what I'm doing." She told him, tucking her long hair back as she sighed and drew a circle in the dirt with her finger. "Besides, this is just payback for you keeping me alive when I was ready to die. I wouldn't have been able to go on if you hadn't encouraged me."

"Yes you would have." He protested, remembering how he had seen her all those months ago when she had been kidnapped by the Fellowship and although she had been weakened and in more pain then he had seen in all his years, he still knew she would make it. And she had. She had survived the torture she had been put through and come out on the other side ready to live again. She was strong and he told her that. "You were very strong during those dark days. And you don't give yourself enough credit. You're stronger then you realize and there's nothing you can't..."

Godric fell silent when Allison's head immediately shot to the side, breaking their eye connection and putting a heavy cloud of tension in the air between them. He didn't know what it was that he said, but whatever it was, it was having quite an effect on her. Even without her looking at him, Godric could tell that her eyes were most likely filling up with tears and her small frame had begun to shake slightly as if the emotion she had been fighting back had become too much for her to keep going. With his vampire senses, he could pick up on the frenzied heartbeat going off inside of her, an obvious sign that she had been greatly upset. And when she turned her face back to him, there were no tears on her cheeks, but the expression in her eyes was still painful enough that if he too had a heart, right now it would feel like it was breaking.

"You look distressed little Fae. What is the matter?" He asked, even though he had just promised that he wouldn't try and get her to talk. It was a promise that was null and void now because he couldn't sit here and not try and address the issue. He considered Allison to now be a very dear friend. And friends always tried to help whether the person wanted it or not. "Tell me what's wrong?"

"He's still in my heart and I don't know how to get him out!" She snapped suddenly, tears filling up in front of her green orbs as she spoke and she looked like there was a moment when she wanted to grab the bottle and fling it across the tunnel against the wall. But she didn't and he couldn't have blamed her if she did because the topic she had brought up was full of pain and he felt some of the responsibility for it. Because the subject she was hurting over was the subject he himself had created over a thousand years ago. "I tried to forget him. But I can't."

"I never wished I was still alive more then I do right now. Because if I was then I would pass through this moonlight and embrace you. But I cannot, so the only thing I can offer is words." He answered back, feeling such sympathy for the girl sitting in front of him. He really did wish he could reach out to her, but it was impossible until he was whole again. So he was forced to sit there, knowing he couldn't do more to help her and just talk. "You still love Eric don't you?"

"I wished I didn't." She responded honestly as a few tears slipped down her face and she fought to wipe them away but they just kept coming so she gave up and just let them flow. Her body was shaken up by the sobs that escaped from between her lips and she shrugged. " I really do wish I could stop loving him. It's too painful to love him."

"I can see that." Godric agreed, nodding in her direction and understanding where she was coming from. He truly did. He himself was furious that the vampire he had created had caused so much pain to an innocent young girl who had done nothing to deserve being hurt like that. There was never a time before now that he had been more ashamed and disappointed in his progeny and the way he acted. It just was not acceptable. But despite that, Godric knew that people made mistakes, even heartbreaking ones like this. And as much as Eric disappointed him, Godric would always believe there was a better version of him just waiting to come out. But that didn't erase the present predicament he was dealing with. Eric had made a far bigger mistake then Godric had originally thought and the repercussions of it were right in front of him. "I'm sorry for all of this."

"For what? You didn't do anything. This was all Eric." She hissed, her tone shifting from sadness and jumping right into hostility. "You had nothing to do with it."

"Maybe so, but Eric is still my child and I had some involvement in how he turned out." Godric shrugged, thinking of his child and feeling the urge to kick himself for not doing a better job at making sure Eric was better off before things had turned out so bad. "I should have been more insistent on him not giving into the darker side of being a vampire. But I failed in that aspect. And for that I am truly sorry."

"I could never hold you at fault for what Eric has done. Eric is his own person, he alone is responsible for his actions." She explained, wiping at her damp face with the back of her hand before saying "I just wish his actions didn't hurt so much. Sometimes I don't think I'm ever going to get passed it."

"You will." Godric assured her, hoping that she would stop hurting but also secretly hoping that in doing that, she wouldn't totally forget about how she felt for Eric. He had watched them over the better part of the year and he truly believed that they were meant for one another. He saw how Eric had changed when Allison walked into his life and Godric knew the girl was a good match for his progeny and they both would remember that one day. And until they both could realize that, he would stay quiet about his hopes for their future and just offer comfort. "The pain will pass. You just need to give it time. And if it takes more time, then just let it happen. It will leave you, I can promise you that."

"I hope so." She whispered with a heavy sigh and then she shook her head as she looked down at the floor where the bottle she was attached to was almost full to the brim. She took that moment to un-tape the needle in her arm and pulled it out of her skin, wincing as it slide out. She stuffed it into a plastic bag along with the I.V. tube and blanket and threw it back in her bag. She then twisted the cap onto the full bottle of blood so it was securely and then rolled it across the dirt floor over to his waiting hands.

"Thank you." He said, smiling at her for the generosity she was showing him and watched as she got to her feet and began pulling on her coat again, her face looking more tired then it had been she first arrived.

"Good night Godric." She waved at him as she started walking away, turning her back on him as she approached the corner of the tunnel and before she could disappear, he called out to her. She paused right at the entrance and turned to look at him with a puzzled look on her face. "What is it?"

"You may not be ready to hear this or you may not want to hear it, but I am going to say it anyway." He announced to her, knowing this was something that needed to be said for everyone's sake. So he didn't hesitate to continue on. "Eric loves you. He loved you then and he loves you now. And he regrets every single day that he hurt you. He knows he made a mistake and he would do anything in his power to try and fix it if you would let him. So take that into consideration before you decide if moving on is really something you want to do."

Allison looked at him silently for a minute and then she turned and walked out, leaving him hoping that his words would have an impact on her. And that someday she would be able to face the very person she was grieving over and those two would have a chance at real happiness. That was what he hoped for the most, even more then for his own resurrection to take place. He would rather be trapped in here forever if it meant that Eric would find real peace and love with the girl whose blood he was now holding in his hand.


	20. Surprise Me

**Chapter 20 Surprise me**

_2 days later_

"So you want to explain why you have been in such a charming mood for the past 48 hours?" Elena asked Allison as the two of them sat inside the coffee shop at a table near the back wall and clutched at nearly full cups off coffee like they had done for the past 20 minutes. Not much had been said in that 20 minutes and Elena was beginning to wonder if the girl's silence had something to do with the things had gone down with Damon a few nights ago. That would certainly explain why Allison never seemed to be home, always seeming to pick up extra shifts at the Grill to avoid doing any interaction with them. And it made sense. After all, that night was full of a lot ups and downs and Allison was bound to be a little more then confused. Especially after finding out what Damon had said to her when they were alone, that was bound to hurt her feelings...

"Elena, I'm not being quiet because I'm upset over what Damon said to me." Allison spoke up, looking away from the spot on the wall she was looking at and turned to face her. "I mean sure, I was annoyed with his attitude, but I have come to expect that with him. So I know not to be offended."

"How did you...you read my mind again." Elena nodded, smiling when Allison indeed tapped her finger against her temple to confirm it. She lifted her cup to take a sip of the semi-hot coffee and then asked "If it's not Damon bothering you, then what is it? You have been in this weird, distant funk for days and I'm getting worried about you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. But my head is so crowded right now that I just needed some time to just keep to myself and try and make sense of some things." She explained, tossing her hair behind her shoulder and set her chin down in the palm of her hand. "And in a way it does have to do with Damon, but not for the reason you may think. And it also has to do with Eric at the same time."

"What do you mean?" Elena frowned, surprised that it did have something to do with Damon but not due to the way he had talked to her. It was for something else entirely.

"Well you see, that night in the kitchen when he and I almost kissed and Eric called, it opened up a whole can of worms for me because I was forced to deal with lingering issues I had over Eric. I had to face the truth and I had been putting it in the back of my mind for a long time now. But that night when he called me, it all came back to the surface and I couldn't ignore it anymore." Allison shrugged, pressing her lips together as she twirled her hair around her fingers. "I mean, I know it's only been 2 months, but I honestly thought that I could stop loving him by now. I thought that if I ignored any thoughts I had about him and didn't see him and didn't call him or contact him in anyway then maybe I would forget about him. But that never happened. In fact, pushing it aside only made it worse. I had held it back and then his phone threw it all back in my face. And I can't just pretend anymore. I can't act like I don't still love him because I do."

"I'm sorry you have to go through this." Elena said, reaching out and putting her hand on Allie's in an attempt at comfort. "I hate that you're caught in this confusion."

"And what sucks is that I also like Damon. I like him more then I thought I would even though we continue to butt heads every time we are together and he always says the most inappropriate things. But I find that when I am around him, my heart hurts just a little bit less, almost like he is the one putting it back together again. And just makes it more confusing because I have conflicting feelings for both Eric and Damon and I just don't know how to work through it all." Allie spat out, her face cloud over in tension and annoyance as she sat back and sighed. "And this is the wrong time to be confused. The timing is horrible."

"What does that mean?" Elena wanted to know, frowning again.

"It's bad because the anniversary of my parents deaths are coming up and I always get sad around this time of year." Allison explained, her green eyes getting misty as she spoke quietly. "And I can barely keep it together under normal circumstances. And with all this confusion over Damon and Eric added to the mix, it just frazzles me and makes me want to pull away for a while until the anniversary passes."

"Maybe you should do that. Just push away all the extra stuff and focus on yourself for now." Elena suggested with a small smile. "I mean, I'm the same way when I think about my parents. So it may not be a bad thing to just let yourself feel whatever it is that you are feeling until you figure it out."

"If only it were easy as you make it sound."

* * *

_Later that night_

"Look, just promise me that you won't stick around the house all night by yourself." Stefan practically begged him as they both sat in the living room staring at each other like they had for the past hour since rising at sunset. Stefan had immediately gone to the phone to make plans with Elena for the night and Damon had taken to the living room with an armful of True Bloods and was just going to make a long night of sitting in front of the fire drinking. And he would have done it if Stefan hadn't come back into the room to harass him about spending time alone in the house for the 3rd night in a row. He knew his brother meant well, but sometimes Stefan could be just so much at once in his zest to get Damon to act like a normal person. But Damon had no interest in being normal. He liked how he was very much.

"Stefan, I told you I would do something while you were out and I will. So get off my back already." Damon hissed, setting down his third empty bottle and picking up the next one. "Besides, I'm not like you. I don't feel the need to constantly integrate myself into human society."

"I just don't like to leave you here all alone when you are in one of your moods." Stefan replied, getting up to leave and sticking his hand in his pocket to grab his keys and make sure he had his wallet. "Call Allison, have her come over and keep you company for a while."

"If she will even talk to me." He muttered, remembering in almost shame the way he had ended things between them the last time they were together. "I was kind of an asshole."

"Yea, you were. But she knew that about you since the beginning." Stefan replied with a smirk as he backed away towards the door. "I doubt that she will let that stand in the way of you guys hanging out together for a few hours."

"We'll see about that." Damon muttered, watching his brother go out the front door and listened for the sound of the car being turned on before it stared driving away. Once it was silent again, he found himself just sitting there listening to the quietness that had never seemed louder then it had on this night. He reached over to the phone on the table next to him and quickly dialed the number that he had only dialed a few times before but he knew it by heart already. He pressed it to his ear and waited for her to pick up. He put the unopened bottle of blood on the table and got up to walk over to the window to look out into the night just as the line connected and he heard her voice. He smirked at the sound of it and said. "Well hello hotness."

"Hello Damon. You are obviously in a good mood tonight." She replied, her voice taking on a slightly playful tone and he could hear her moving around on her end of the line, probably trying to get comfortable. "Why are you calling me? I haven't heard from you in days."

"I could say the same thing for you." He shot back, not willing to be the one to take all the blame for the time when they hadn't been around each other. "You could have called too."

"I had some stuff on my mind." She said in a way that suggested he knew exactly what she was talking about. "But seriously, you called me for a reason. I know you well enough to know that. So what is it?"

"I want you to come over." He answered simply, smirking when he could hear her slip off whatever she was sitting on and land on the floor. "What? We haven't seen each other in a while and I'm bored. At least if you're here then things could get interesting."

"Oh if you're there you will make sure something happens." She said sarcastically and he could picture her rolling her eyes before she spoke again. "Alright, I have nothing to do tonight so I will come over. But on one condition."

"Ooo setting down ground rules. I like it."

"You will not talk about, hint at or even mildly elude to our near fight from the other night. I do not want to talk about it and I don't want you to either." She told him, her voice getting stern. "If you can accept that then I will come by. What do you have to say to that?"

"I will see you at 8:30." Damon shot back before he hung up the phone and sat back with a smirk. Oh things were about to get very interested tonight.

Very interesting indeed.

* * *

_1 hour later_

"This could end up being a fun night or it could wind up biting me in the ass big time." I mumbled to myself as I turned my car on to the road that lead to the Salvatore house and gripped the steering wheel tightly as I drove through the night, not knowing exactly what I was getting myself into.

When Damon had called me 60 minutes earlier, I wasn't expecting it to be him on the other end of the line because we hadn't spoken since the night he said I meant nothing to him. I had refused to be offended by his words because I knew vampires like him always said stuff like that and I had no intention of letting it get to me. But still, I hadn't had any contact with him and it was partially due to the fact of what he said. Of course it was going to sting a little bit, but the real reason I stayed away for those few days had nothing to do with what happened. As I had told Elena, I needed to sort through all this confusion surrounding my lingering feelings for Eric and my new found feelings towards Damon. And of course it was only made worse by the fact that I also had to remember my parents deaths while I was trying to figure out all these feelings. Not that I would have been able to know what to do if I didn't have those tragic memories hovering over me, but at least it would have given me more room in my head to stretch it out rather then having everything crowd together the way it was. Thinking about my mom and dad made me more emotional then I was normally and even the smallest thing could make me feel like I was on the verge of tears. And I knew if I had been around Damon in the last few days then the near fight we had, would have made me cry, even though it didn't bother me. But when he called, I was hit with the desire to see him and I was happy to agree to his invite as long as I made sure he wouldn't bring up the other night. I just didn't need that much more drama in my head. Not now.

I reached the end of the driveway I hadn't realized I had turned on to and pulled the car to a stop on the gravel off to the side and turned the engine off. I grabbed my keys and stuffed them in my bag before I climbed out and slammed the door shut. I felt the cold air hit me and I grinned when I looked up and saw the beginning of snow start to fall from the dark sky above me. I closed my eyes for a second, feeling the flakes land on my skin and start to melt and I couldn't help but smile again. I loved the snow, it reminded me of those rare times when I was a kid and Bon Temps had occasionally gotten hit with some freak storm. It was totally like that right now and I was remembering the excitement I would feel when I would feel those first snowflakes in my hair and how the ground would crunch under my feet as I walked. It was nice and I would have stayed out there a minute longer to enjoy it if it hadn't been for the sound of the front door opening and a voice interrupting my solitude.

"You humans get weirder and weirder as the centuries go on." Damon said to me as he walked out on to the steps with his arms crossed and a smirk on his lips. "You want to come in? Or would you prefer to stand out in the cold and freeze that pretty little ass off? Your choice."

"Calm down." I grumbled, wrapping my arms around myself as I started to walk towards him. "I'm coming."

"Promise?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and I would have reached out and hit him if I didn't need to keep my balance so badly.

"You are so narrow minded when it comes to talking to people." I groaned, stomping passed him when motioned me inside the house. When the door was shut behind me and I was shrugging out of my jacket, I turned to look at him and rolled my eyes. "If you didn't say one thing that didn't have some underlining sexual innuendo then I would die of shock."

"Stop lying to yourself. You know you love it." Damon shot back and without even knowing I was that close to doing it, I started blushing and that only further satisfied him and he grinned evilly. "I guess I have my answer."

"And I guess I should have expected this from you." I hung up my jacket and bag beside the door and followed him into the living room where there was thankfully a fire going. I went to go stand in front of it, while I felt his eyes on my back and I looked over my shoulder at him. "Stop checking out my ass and get me a drink."

"I love it when I push your buttons." He laughed and turned his attention to the mini-bar across the room from me and began moving glasses and bottles around. I watched him as he did this, staring at his back so intensely that I was sure he felt it. But if he did, for once he didn't comment on it and I was just left in peace to look at him. My head was still crammed with a boat load of confusing thoughts, and I knew eventually I would have to figure it out. But for the moment, it was almost like it didn't exist. As much as Damon annoyed me, I couldn't deny that I felt good when I was around him. And with this time of year coming up, I needed as much happiness as I could get. No matter where it came from.

* * *

_90 minutes later_

"So, care to reveal anything about yourself?" Damon asked, dropping down onto the couch next to the girl after he had gotten himself another large glass of blood and stared at her as she innocently looked back at him. "I mean, we've been sitting here for almost 2 hours talking about anything and everything other then you and I have to say that while the tease and dance thing is fun, my curiosity has reached an all time high. So spill it."

"I think I'll pass on that." She replied, taking a sip of the champagne he had given her and he watched her throat as she swallowed, her veins popping out and making her look more delectable then before. "I don't feel the need to talk about myself all the time like you do."

"Why not? I find you extremely fascinating." He smirked out loud as he said this because for once he was being honest. He did find her interesting and it wasn't because of what she was or the kind of blood she had running through her veins. He was fascinated because somehow she had captured his attention and kept it for 2 months now and that was very rare in a breather. He never was able to keep his mind on one woman for longer then a few days, a week tops. And that was even with sex. Allison hadn't even let him kiss her yet and still he kept on coming back for more of her. It may have been the chase of it all to see how long she could hold out on him but even he had to admit that wasn't all there was too it. There something more there, bubbling right under the surface that he was unwilling to admit to. Something that made him want her for more then just the usual reasons. But for now he was satisfied with just annoying her in any way that he could. Because seeing her get pissed off was hot and he loved seeing her like that.

"Seriously Damon, I don't want to talk about myself or my past." She told him, looking up and tucking her long, silky hair behind her ears. "Drop it."

"Ah intrigue. I love it." He commented, sitting up straight on his side of the couch and gulped back the remaining amount of blood before setting the glass aside and putting his eyes on her. "Why are you avoiding talking about yourself?"

"I'm not avoiding it, I just don't want to talk about it." She said, shaking her while she put down her glass and sat back with her arms crossed. "I don't like talking about my younger years."

"Why not?" He prodded, knowing he would break her down eventually.

"Because it's painful that's why." She hissed, her green eyes flaring up with anger. "I told you guys all about my history and everything that has happened and I really don't want to talk about it."

"You had no problem talking about it then, so what is the difference now." He wanted to know, watching as her face went from frustrated to angry and then to a slight sadness that he had no idea where it had come from. He moved closer to her, setting his arm on the back of the couch near hers and said. "Why is this time not good to talk about it? Why is it more painful now?"

"Damon, I don't know how much you remember about your parents death or how often you relive it, but for me, I relive it every year. Especially right around this time. In fact, the anniversary of their deaths is coming up and I always get sadder when I realized that and I told Elena that its around this time when I start retreating and pulling away until that day passes. And I deal with it in my own way because that's how I have always done things. And it's how I will continue to do things for years after. And talking about it when I don't want to is not going to help." She said, running her hands through her long hair and she sighed heavily, the sadness evident in her voice and for once, he didn't have the urge to keep pushing at her for information. If she wanted to tell him, then she would. "So can we please just talk about something else?"

"Whatever you want." He agreed, moving back to his side of the couch and reaching for his glass of blood. "But you know you can always talk to me if you want. I can be a pretty good listener when I want to be."

"I think that is the nicest thing you have ever said to me." She pointed out, sounding surprised but pleased at his words and seeing the uplifting expression in her eyes made him grin. But of course it didn't mean he wouldn't get the last word in.

"Don't get used to it. I can turn back into an asshole at the drop of a hat."

* * *

_45 minutes later_

_Flashback_

_Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone_

_Without a dream in my heart_

_Without a love of my own_

_Blue Moon, you knew just what I was there for_

_You heard me saying a prayer for_

_Someone I really could care for_

_I crept down the stairs, holding my nightgown above my ankles so I wouldn't trip and make any noise. If mom and dad caught me out of bed this late again, then they would get really mad and punish me. I didn't want to be punished again, I was supposed to go play with Sookie tomorrow at her house. But I couldn't stay in bed anymore. I tried to, I really did, but I couldn't get to sleep, even with my night light off. I don't know how long I sat up in bed, looking around at my stuffed animals but it must have been late because I heard the sounds of the stereo being turned on downstairs and I knew my parents were doing something they only did long after I had gone to bed. And that's why I was slowly making my way down the stairs. I had to be more careful because the light was off and as soon as I got to the bottom, I looked directly across the living room to the sliding glass door that lead to our small porch where the music was softly playing and I could just make out the image of them outside. I moved a little closer, hiding behind the back of the couch until I could peek around the side and see more clearly. My first thought was excitement because in the glare of the porch light, I could see the snowflakes falling from the black sky and I knew this was one of those rare snowstorms that passed through our warm weathered town. But then my excitement turned to joy when I refocused my eyes on my parents and remembered why I had tip toed down here in the first place._

_"They're dancing in the snow again." I said to myself, making sure to keep my voice quiet, even though they couldn't hear me over the music. I laid down on my belly and set my elbows up in the carpet so I could place my chin in my hands and watch them comfortably._

_They looked happy. And that made me happy. I don't know why they waited until the middle of the night to dance outside, but that's how they had done it since the first time I discovered them doing it the year before. And every time there was a really cold night or the first snow was due to fall, I knew they would be out there dancing together. So I would always sneak out of bed and creep downstairs to see if I could get to watch them for a few minutes. And I never was caught. I was glad. I didn't want to ever stop seeing them dancing together. They really seemed to like it even though I didn't understand why. But I didn't care for the reason, I just liked looking at them. They always seemed happiest when they were out here together. And that's why I always wanted to catch them doing it. Because the moments were so rare and far between when they were really happy._

_And then suddenly, appeared before me_

_The only one, my arms could ever hold_

_I heard somebody whisper _

_'Please adore me'_

_But when I looked_

_That moon had turned to gold_

_Blue Moon_

_"Mommy looks really happy." I whispered to myself, watching with a smile as my daddy twirled her around in his arms, making her laugh. She looked pretty, even when the snow wet her hair and it got caught on her face. Daddy would just brush it away and keep on swaying with her, sometimes dipping her backwards and other times just spinning her in fast circles. They never let go of each other, always holding on by their arms or their hands. It was almost like they were attached to each other. Mommy looked at Daddy like he was a prince in one of my story books. And Daddy looked at Mommy, like he never wanted to look away._

_They never stopped moving, although they did slow down and moved closer to each other. Mommy laid her cheek on Daddy's shoulder and he wrapped her arms around her like he was hugging her and they kept on swaying. It was like they were sleeping and dancing at the same time because sometimes they would close their eyes. But then Mommy would pull back and look at Daddy with a smile. Sometimes I would see their lips moving and knew they were talking and not singing and sometimes I could hear what they were thinking as they stood out there in the night with the snow falling on their hair._

_"...I love you so much. You have no idea how happy you have made me for these last few years."_

_"You made me feel like the luckiest man alive when you agreed to be my wife. And we have the best life. I have the most beautiful woman as my wife, I have a beautiful little girl, and I have the best family. It doesn't get any better then this."_

_Now I'm no longer alone_

_Without a dream in my heart_

_Without a love of my own_

_Without a love of my own_

_Blue Moon_

_I never stayed behind the couch for long because I never wanted to get caught. But I did try and get as much time as I could, keeping watch for when they would turn to come back inside. Sometimes I would have to pinch myself to stay awake so I wouldn't miss one second of this. It was like watching the best movie and TV show all at once. But I liked it better because it was real and it was my parents I was seeing in front of my eyes. I couldn't get tired of this, no matter how many times I would sneak down to watch them. They just looked so happy and full of life, just dancing out there in the snow..._

"Not that I mind, when you're quiet because you can get really annoying when you talk. But this long ass silence is getting boring." Damon's voice cut into my haze of thoughts and I was brought out of it only to see his face staring at me from across the room. He stood by the counter, looking like he was pouring himself another glass of blood to drink before he came back over to the couch I was sitting on and sat down on the other end. He propped his arm on the back of it and kicked his heels up on the table after setting down his glass and looked at me with a frown. "Where the heck was your head at just now?"

"None of your business." I replied, shaking my head as I reached for my bottle of water and took a sip. "I was just thinking about some stuff."

"That wasn't just thinking. You were quiet for like 25 minutes." He pointed out, tracing a circle on the rich fabric of the couch with his finger tip before he said. "You were reliving something and it made you happy."

"How did you know?" I asked, shocked that I had been out of it for that long. Sometimes when I thought about my parents, I could get lost in my memories for hours if I didn't pull myself out of it. And I suppose with the time of year and the anniversary of their deaths coming up, it was only natural that I would think more about them. But I was still surprised that Damon had been paying attention to me enough to notice my expression.

"You're smiling." He nodded towards my lips and I reached up to my face to feel that he was right, I was smiling and smiling big at that. He watched me for a brief minute before he sat up and moved closer to me. "So come on. Tell me what you were thinking about."

"You really want to know?" I asked, frowning that he would actually be interested in something like this. Damon just didn't seem to be the kind of vampire that was into the talking thing. So I didn't know how to respond when he first asked me except to almost snap at him. This time he looked genuinely interested though, so I was more open to it. "You seriously want to hear this?"

"Why not?" He shrugged, scratching his head with his fingers. "It's obviously a good story since you were smiling. And I'm going to take a guess and say it has to do with the snow."

"How did you know?" My mouth would have dropped open if it hadn't been for him reaching out and placing his hand under my chin to keep it in place.

"When I turned on the light to the porch and it started snowing again, that's when you went quiet. As soon as you saw snowflakes falling, you went into your own world and wouldn't stop smiling. And I'm curious to know the story behind that." He explained, his lips briefly turning up into a smirk, but he seemed to fight it back and just looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Well?"

"It's not some big exciting story. It's just one of those memories I relive every now and again when it snows because it was such a happy memory for my parents before they died and that's how I like to remember them." I told Damon, propping my elbow on the back of the couch and leaned my head against my hand. "When I was a kid, I was only like 6 years old, but I remember sneaking out of my room at night whenever they thought I was asleep because I knew they were up to something and I wanted to watch them. So I would go downstairs in the dark and hide behind the couch because I would hear them turn on music and then they would go out on the porch when it was snowing out and start dancing. Always when ever it snowed, they were out there dancing. And I loved to watch them because they never looked happier then they did on those nights. It was just the two of them swaying to this old recording of "Blue Moon" and I was so transfixed by the sight of them. And I just remember sitting there on the floor watching them and thinking that it was the most peaceful and serene thing I have ever seen. And watching it never got old. I could have watched them do it for hours. The happiness that was on their faces was what made me sneak out from my room and risk getting caught, just so I could that moment that they shared. And any time it snows, I always remember those times and it always makes me smile. It was just one of those rare things from my younger days before things got shitty when it all felt normal and happy. And I like to go back to that, even now that I'm 23 years old. But especially at this time of year since the anniversary of their deaths are coming up. And I would rather remember something nice like that, rather then something sad."

"Wow." Damon answered back without the slightest hint of a smart comeback or even any teasing. He just nodded when I finished speaking and looked at me with some unreadable expression in his eyes. He pressed his lips together and wrinkled his forehead before he spoke. "You know, I'm surprised that you told me that."

"Well, you asked. And it didn't really seem all that polite to just ignore you. So I did it and I guess I'm surprised that you are surprised." I smiled, watching Damon grin at my words. I actually moved closer to him, taking myself even more by surprise then I did him. But there was something there between him and I tonight. Something that made me want to open up to him and feel a closeness that I always knew had been there."Besides, I'm sure that maybe one day you'll surprise me too. But I doubt that will happen any time soon."

"Don't have so little faith in my abilities." He stated with a smirk as his lips curled up tight and he turned his blue eyes on me and I felt the breath catch in my throat as he stared. "I could probably come up with something right now to surprise you."

"Oh really? And what would that be?" I asked, crossing my arms doubtfully and watching him as he got up from the couch and walked across the room to the shelves on the wall opposite of us and observed the way he seemed to look through the vast collection of cds before quickly finding the one he wanted and slipping it into the sound system and pressing play. He then turned back to face me and began to walk across the room just as the music started to softly play and I was shocked when the opening words of "Blue Moon" began to come out of the speakers. I thought this was what he was getting at when he said he could surprise me, but when he got closer to me, I had this feeling that the music choice wasn't the surprise at all. Damon got to about a foot away when he stopped and held out his hand to me and I was about to question him about it when he spoke first. And I will say this right now, the thing that came out of his mouth did indeed surprise me. Oh it surprised me a lot.

"Will you dance with me? Out in the snow?"

This time my mouth really did fall open and neither him or I tried to stop it. I was completely stunned by his request, never in a million years thinking that he of all people could do something so genuinely sweet and considerate as to ask me to make my own version of a memory I had seen my parents share over 17 years ago. It was so unexpected and so sweet that I almost wanted to cry. But I didn't. Instead I put a smile on my face and I slide my hand into his, allowing him pull me up off the couch and lead me over to the door that lead out to the stone patio. There wasn't that much snow on the ground yet which was good because I was only wearing sneakers, but it still crunched under my feet and the cold air made its made into my lungs, filling me up with a sense of excitement as we stood out there in the cold night with only the sounds of the music softly coming from the house. Once we were out there, Damon didn't hesitate in pulling me forward against his chest, setting one arm around my waist to hold me steady and taking my hand with his free one to twirl me around. I barely had a second to curl my arm around his neck before he moved me again, forcing me to move closer to him so I would stay on my feet. I could see him start to smirk again but this time it didn't bother me. He could have said and done anything he wanted at that moment and I wouldn't have been able to yell at him. For once I was just too happy to be annoyed with him, for once Damon had gotten it right and had behaved in a way that was truly unlike himself and it turned out to be great in the end. I wish he could be like this with me more often.

"You look happy." He said, his voice forcing me to look at him and I was happy to see a real smile on his lips. A sight that I didn't often see from him. "It's nice."

"Believe it or not. I actually feel happy inside. And I think it's the first time I felt that since moving here." I told him, grinning when I thought of the irony of the situation. I never would have thought I could feel happy ever again after what had happened between Eric and I. And if I did manage to find happiness in Mystic Falls, I always thought it would be in the form of a new friend like Elena or even from Stefan. But I never saw it coming that a vampire like Damon would be the one to make me smile and feel honestly happy for the first time since starting my new life. Damon was just too much like Eric and I did not think he was capable of doing something like this, but he had. And as much as it surprised me, I could tell he was genuine and he wanted to make me happy. I focused my eyes on his handsome face and said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He replied and as he spoke, his breath moved the hair back on my face, chilling me a little but not enough to pull away from him. "I know I act like an asshole some times..."

"Sometimes?" I smirked, laughing when he pretended to look insulted and I held on tightly to his hand when he twirled me out and then pulled me back in again.

"Ok, I'm an asshole most of the time. But I can pull it together when I need to." He pointed out, his hand resting on my lower back and his fingers holding my hand gently. His touch was so gentle and light that I was shocked all over again, and he commented on it. "Don't look so shocked. I told you I could turn off the asshole in me. I'm not being like that now am I?"

"No you certainly are not." I agreed, tilting my head back to meet his eyes only to find that his face was much closer then I thought. I stared right into his blue orbs, finding that they weren't filled with fury or mischief or any of his usual devious expressions. He was just looking at me like any normal person would, like he didn't want to rip my throat out and drink my blood. But just because I didn't fear for my life around him, that didn't mean there wasn't a look of hunger in his eyes. There was, there totally was. Even someone like me with limited experience in the romance department could see that. I stared at him and he stared right back at me. His eyes never leaving my face as the hungry look in his features grew, except it wasn't a hunger for my blood. It was a hunger for me in general. It was the way he had been looking at me for a while now and any sense of him wanting me just for my blood had gone out the window long ago. He wanted me for me. I could sense it in the way his body tensed against mine as we continued to sway. I could feel it in the air between us every time he turned us around in the snow and my hair caught on my face and he brushed it away for me. I saw it his eyes in the way when they kept on moving downward towards my mouth and I knew in that instant that something was about to happen with us. We were at that fork in the road where we could either go left and stay on the same path we were on and never change a thing. Or we could go right and head out on a crazy ride that could prove to be messy. I didn't know what to do so that's why I looked down for a second, trying to gather myself together before I looked up at his face and asked in a breathless voice. "Are you going to kiss me?"

"Why?" He asked back with a smirk, pulling us to a stop in the middle of the patio and looked down at me with a semi-serious expression in his eyes. "Would you stop me if I tried?"

"I...uh..." I swallowed nervously, unable to look away from him. I wanted to so badly run away, but not because I didn't want him to follow through with it. It was because I was scared, scared of taking that next step and scared of it ending the way the last encounter I had with a vampire had ended. But looking at him and the way he was looking at me, I knew I couldn't hide. Not anymore. I had to just close my eyes and take a giant leap of faith and hope it didn't screw me over in the end. I met his eyes again and I shrugged. "No, I wouldn't stop you if you tried. Not at all."

Damon's smirk, if possible, got even bigger then it had on any previous occasion and I was sure that he would just dive right in and kiss me right then and there. But he didn't. Instead, I felt the hand that had been holding mine, leave my palm and settle on my hips. His hands pulled my closer to him and I felt his fingers brushing against the skin right below the hem of my cream colored sweater, causing me to shiver but not from the temperature. My arms were still hanging at my sides once he had broken our dancer's position, but he then grabbed me by the wrists and brought my arms back around his neck, drawing our faces that much closer. His breath was on me now as his hands pressed on my lower back before I could feel his lips on the skin of my neck, kissing my throat just like he had done in the kitchen before Eric had ruined the moment. But nothing was going to ruin this moment, my phone was in the house and we were alone other wise. There was nothing to disrupt us and unless I pushed him away, then he was going to end up kissing me. And feeling his lip kissing their way across my jaw, I knew I wasn't going to push him away. And then, there was a brief moment when our eyes met and then they disappeared and his lips were crashing against mine.

I was flying. I was completely and utterly flying as I stood there with Damon and kissed him back, feeling my cold heart start to come out of hibernation as his mouth attacked mine. It wasn't a kiss the way a first kiss should have been which was sweet, and light and short. It was a kiss full of passion and heat. It was heavy and intense and it was anything but short. I could feel my heart pounding wildly inside my chest and I knew Damon could feel it as well as hear it. But I barely was able to focus on that as my hands fell from around his neck and dropped down to his chest and I pressed my palms flat against him, wanting to feel his body. I hadn't felt that desire in a while and I was curious to know what it was like to feel someone other then Eric. Damon's body was like having a brand new house to check out, I wanted to know every part of him and maybe one day I would. I could feel myself grinning even as we kissed and that allowed him enough room to forced his tongue into my mouth and clash with mine. If anything, this only excited me further and I actually grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt and pulled myself closer. His hands left my back, traveling upwards until they met with my face and he actually was the one to break the kiss and pull back. I was about to groan with annoyance, but then I saw the look on his face and grinned at what he said next.

"The reality of kissing you was better then any fantasy that I could have come up with." He said softly, his breath tickling my nose. "You are a living, breathing fantasy..."

"Shut up." I ordered, yanking his face back down so our lips met again. I smiled when he did what I asked and stopped talking so he could kiss me again. His lips felt nice against mine, and his kiss made this furious cloud of butterflies grow inside of my stomach and I was so worked up that I didn't even noticed the cold or the snow any more. There was just Damon and only Damon. And his hands, those hands were every where. Just when I thought they would stay in one place, he would move them away, almost like a chase over my body. And I loved every second of it. His hands and his kiss would have gone on for much longer then it did. If it weren't for one very excited voice that came from inside the house.

"Oh my god Stefan, it finally happened. They finally kissed. It's about time it went down, I thought vampires were going to walk in the sunlight before these two finally got down to business!Hell yea!"

**A/N: this was supposed to be posted 4 hours ago but the sight was done...but there you have it, the kiss you have all been waiting for...and the song "Blue Moon" is by Sha Na Na...i take no credit for it**


	21. Realizations

**Chapter 21 Realizations **

"Holy shit. I cannot believe it finally happened." Elena said excitedly as she and Stefan came out through the sliding glass door and joined Damon and I in the snow and I could see that she was ready to burst out into joyful song at the sight of him and I together. Her eyes kept on flashing from my face and over to Stefan, who was only looking at his brother with a wicked smile on his lips as he shook his head. Elena was just so full of happiness at the sight of Damon and I joined together and she had no problem expressing it. "I never thought you guys would ever get to this point."

"I uh, well...um..." I didn't even know what to say as I stood there, Damon's hand still on my face and my arms still wrapped around him as we hadn't broken apart yet. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks as I looked up and caught his eyes, seeing the familiar smirk already in place and I found myself blushing harder.

"Aww, she's embarrassed." Damon teased before he laughed loudly, the sound coming from deep inside of him as if from a place that he rarely tapped into.

"I'm not embarrassed." I finally found my voice and I dropped my arms away, stepping back so there was distance between us. Because if I didn't move then there was a very good chance that I would grab Damon and pull him in for another kiss, even if Stefan and Elena were standing right there. I shook my head, trying to regain composure before speaking again. "There is nothing for me to be embarrassed about."

"Oh I beg to differ." Damon replied mischievously, holding up his hand before saying. "Don't think I don't know."

"Know what?" I tried to play dumb, but I was never very good at it. But it never stopped me from trying.

"I'm a vampire and my senses are a million times stronger then yours are. And I can tell when I have gotten to someone and that's not being cocky. That's just being observant." He explained, ignoring Stefan's look of annoyance and stepped forward until he was right up against me again, his hands finding their way to my waist and I didn't stop him. His fingers yanked me forward until I was pressed up against him and I could feel everything. And I when I said everything, I meant everything. I looked up at him, the heat returning to my face and that only seemed to thrill him more. His smirk twisted even more tightly and he asked. "Did I turn you Ms. Stackhouse?"

"Oh my god. You are relentless." I snapped, smacking him in the chest and wrestled myself away from him before I did something I would later regret. I quickly ran my hands through my hair, knowing it had gotten messed up and once my fingers ran through it smoothly, I spoke again. "You know what? I'm just going to go. I've had enough excitement for one night."

"I'll walk you out." Elena offered, sending a glare at Damon before she took me by the arm and pulled me back into the house, shutting the glass door behind us. She yanked me across the room towards the door before turning to me and saying "He's a piece of work isn't he?"

"Yes he is." I nodded, keeping the smile at bay from turning into a full blown grin as I reached for my jacket and began pulling it on. "One moment he is being the sweetest that he ever has been, and the next minute he is back to acting like a bastard. It's a whirlwind."

"I don't know how you deal with it." Elena commented, crossing her arms and turning to look back to the patio and her eyes misted over as they landed on Stefan. "Stefan is nothing like that. I got lucky with him. Most vampires are like Damon, but Stefan is just so incredible."

"He got lucky too. You're pretty incredible yourself." I smiled as I pulled my arms through the sleeves and reached for my bag. "And its nice to see a relationship like yours. It makes me want that for myself."

"Maybe you'll have it again someday." Elena suggested hopefully, smiling at me in the way only a true friend can as I opened the door and stepped out into the cold night. "I really hope you do find happiness. If anyone deserves it, its you. And who knows, maybe Damon will be the one to do it. If he ever pulls his head out of his ass long enough."

"Oh there is so nothing serious going on there. But thanks for the thought." I said, waving at her as I walked down the steps to the driveway. But as I was reaching for my keys, I began to wonder if what I had just said to Elena was the truth.

Was there really nothing serious between Damon and I ?

* * *

_Back inside the house_

"Really Damon? Was that absolutely necessary?" His brother asked him the second they both stepped back into the house and Damon had walked right on over to the table and grabbed the bottle of blood he had left, leaving Stefan to shake his head in disbelief. "Do you always have to follow up a nice moment with something inappropriate?"

"Maybe I do." Damon replied back, taking a gulp of the blood and grinned at his brother. "Besides, it wasn't inappropriate. It was an observation. And you know it was right on target. Don't tell me you didn't notice that her heartbeat quickened the moment I grabbed her. Because we both know that I totally turned her on."

"Yea I noticed, but I wasn't stupid enough to comment on it." Stefan shot back, sitting down on the couch across from the fire and tucked his arms around himself. "I mean, do you enjoy ruining every nice thing that comes along?"

"Yea, it's fun for me. You should try it sometime." Damon told him, rolling his eyes at his brother's annoyance. Stefan's constant need to try and pretend to be human and always trying to do the right this annoyed him to no end. They were monsters and they should do what was natural to them and not try and pretend to be anything different. "Why do you care about what I do when I am around Allison? It's my life, not yours."

"You're my brother, I kind of care about your happiness and I don't want to see you screw it up every time you have a shot at it." Stefan pointed out, stretching his arms out across the couch's back and sighed. "I know Damon. I know how much you care for her..."

"I don't." Damon interrupted, his eyes narrowing at Stefan's words and he spun around on his heels to glare across the room. "I don't care about her."

"Yes you do." Stefan insisted, his dark brow furrowing as they stared at each other. "Who are you trying to fool? Because it's not me. I know you care about her, Maybe even love..."

"Stop. Don't even go there." Damon cut him off at the pass, not wanting to hear anymore of this. It wasn't right and it certainly wasn't true. And he wasn't about to let his brother say it was. "There is nothing serious going on between her and I. There's nothing at all there. She means nothing to me."

"Now why do I believe that isn't true?" Stefan asked, standing up and walking over to the fireplace with his hands on his hips. "I know you Damon and I know you don't like to admit that you feel anything, least of all anything that means you care for someone. But I can tell that you feel something for her. You did the moment she showed up Mystic Falls and I knew it again when I saw the way you kissed her. She means something to you. And whether you own up to it or not, we both know that is true. And no matter how much you try and push it away, no matter how much you deny it, she has a hold on you. And you're just too stubborn to face it. You are too stubborn to face that she could possibly be the one to change everything for you. That's what I think."

"You think too much." Damon hissed, turning away from his brother and walking back over to the table where the drinks were and began to fiddle with the bottles. "You invent all this crazy shit in your head and then expect it to be true when you say it out loud. Well it's not true because I'm not like that. I'm not you Stefan. I can't just feel as easily as you do God damn it."

"Can't or won't?' Stefan shot back at him, raising his eyebrows in question. "Because it is possible. You just don't allow yourself that opportunity. You could have it if you wanted to."

"And I could kill you if I wanted to." Damon hissed, his fangs coming out and he gripped the table edges so he wouldn't fly across the room and attack his brother. "Just go away. Leave me in peace."

"Whatever you say Damon." Stefan replied, walking towards the front of the house to the staircase and paused on the first step. "You could have her if you wanted. All you have to do is admit that you feel something."

"I feel nothing." Damon muttered, watching his brother climbed the stairs in the reflection of the mirror and it took all he had not to rush after him and start a fight. He hated it when Stefan called him on crap, especially when it came to Allison. He didn't feel anything for her. He was just physically attracted to her. That was all there was to it. And that's all there ever would be between them

But when Damon looked at himself in the mirror, he was shocked to see a grin of true happiness displayed right on his face.

* * *

_40 minutes later_

"Why does he always do this? Why does he always have to be so incredibly frustrating?" Elena asked Stefan as they lay curled up on his bed with their arms around each other as he finished telling her about the conversation he had with Damon while she was saying goodbye to Allison. "I mean, does he get some sort of perverted pleasure by pushing away everything that could be good for him?"

"Do you not know how Damon operates by now?" Stefan chuckled, tracing a circled on the back of her shoulder with his cold fingertip. "It's how he has been and it's how he always will be. I don't know if he will ever get to the point where he can accept happiness in his life."

"And that's just sad to me. Even though Damon is cocky and arrogant and drives me crazy every single time I am around him, I still believe that deep down, he is not as evil as he makes himself out to be." Elena told her boyfriend, rolling off his chest and sitting up beside him. "And even vampires like him deserve to have happiness. Maybe even more so because he has spent so much time without it."

"I love that you are so willing to see the good in Damon even when he gives no reason for it." Stefan grinned, touching her long hair that had fallen over her shoulder. "But if Damon doesn't have happiness then he has no one to blame but himself. He has the power to grab it but he chooses not to. And no matter how much I want him to change, he has to be willing. I can't do it for him."

"It would be so much easier if you could, then maybe he wouldn't be so annoying if he were happy." Elena sighed, her lips tightly pressed together as she thought of the darker haired vampire lurking somewhere in the house. "Do you think he would ever be able to have a normal relationship? I mean like the one we have?"

"I believe some things are possible and Damon being able to love someone is one of them. So yes, I do think he could have a relationship." Stefan agreed, his hand reaching out slowly to cover hers. "But it don't think its going to happen."

"Why do you say that?" Elena asked, grasping his hand tightly. "Maybe it will just take more time. I mean, he's never been this invested in someone before. Even if he doesn't say it, I know it's there. I see how he looks at her. And it probably just freaks him out. He just needs more time."

"Trust me, I'm all for it if it would get him the chance to be with someone like her. Because I honestly think she would be good for him. But he has to want it to be more." Stefan stated, looking at the open door of the bedroom and Elena knew he was thinking about where his brother was at that moment. "And as long as he keeps saying it is nothing, then its as good as nothing. If he refuses to acknowledge it, then he will never have her as anything more then what he has now. And if he keeps her at a distance, then it feel comfortable to him."

"But I just don't get it. I mean, you have no problem being vulnerable with me or admitting how you feel. You seem to turn your emotions on and off so easily. So why can't he do the same? Why can't he just say that he feels something?" Elena frowned, wondering how it was possible that Damon couldn't do the same. Stefan really did have an open pathway to his more human side. But Damon couldn't even seem to get close. And that baffled her. She looked at Stefan curiously "I just wonder why he keeps on saying that nothing serious is going on when it clearly is."

"I know there is something there as well. And I think deep down, Damon also knows it." Stefan nodded, his hand gripping his hair before he sighed. "Denying his feelings for her is the only way he can be close to her without risking the possibility of pain when he loses her."

"What are you saying?" Elena demanded, feeling a frown take over her face and she pulled further away from him in confusion. "You think that he's going to lose her?"

"I think...that's what he thinks." Stefan answered back with a shrug. "Think about it. Damon has a hard enough time getting close to people who live here all the time. Allison is only going to be here for a while and once she has resurrected Godric, then she'll mostly likely be going home. So he's probably thinking, why even bother."

"He should still try." Elena mumbled, more to herself then to Stefan. "He should still give himself the chance to love her. I know he could. I just know it."

* * *

_Back at Allison's apartment_

"Oh my god, that was not what I was thinking was going to happen tonight." I said to myself as I shot around my bed room, picking up the things I had left out before I had gone to the Salvatore house and began to put them back in their place. I could have left it until morning, but I didn't. I needed to do this. I need to keep busy or else the thoughts I had been keeping at bay were going to come rushing back into my head and I couldn't have that. I didn't want think about what u had felt when Damon and I kissed. Sure I had acted all calm and collected when I walked out of there, but the second I was here alone, I was freaking out and doing everything in my power to ignore the throbbing in my chest of my frantic heartbeat.

I ignored the ache in my body that Damon had picked up on and just went about my room, picking up shoes and slamming drawers shut in my haste to forget about the way I was feeling. I stopped in the middle of the carpet once everything was put away and began changing for bed, only pausing long enough to pull on a tank top and shorts before throwing my clothes in the hamper. But even after that I didn't stop pacing. I had to keep moving because the moment I stopped, I would feel everything that I had been trying to run from. And I didn't want to admit it.

I didn't want to face it.

"I do not like him." I said out loud in my pacing in an attempt to convince myself that I could just order this away. I could do that, I could pretend like this was nothing more then just a physical attraction. I had enough control over myself that I could force my mind to believe what I wanted to believe. It could happen. At least that's what I told myself as I kept walking back and forth across my carpet. "You don't like him. You cannot like him."

But it wasn't my thoughts that paused me in my place the second after I said that. It was my eyes catching my reflection in the mirror above my dresser and I was shocked by what I saw. I was smiling. And not just a little smile, it was a full on grin that I had even realized I had been wearing since I got home and had been trying to avoid thinking about Damon. But now it was impossible to ignore. The proof was right there in front of me and I couldn't deny it anymore. It had been a long time since I had truly smiled like this. A very long time and I barely remembered what it felt like to know how happiness felt. But tonight I did remember. And it was all because of Damon. It seemed like kissing him had brought this out of me and no matter how much I wished it weren't true, I couldn't just pretend that he didn't have some part in it anymore. When i arrived here in Mystic Falls, I was a broken and destroyed mess and I didn't think I could ever be put back together. But Damon was doing just that, in his own way. Without me even realizing it, he had begun to heal my shattered heart and was making me feel whole again. It was all him, and as I looked at myself in the mirror for a minute longer, the truth came to me and I gasped out loud.

"Oh my god. I'm falling for him."

**A/N: so things are starting to set in for Damon and Allison. They are beginning to realize that they can't keep avoiding how they truely feel for one another. But only time will tell if they will admit it to each other instead of just to themselves. So please review and maybe i will update fairly quickly**


	22. Progress Part 1

**Chapter 22 Progress Part 1**

_A few days later_

"Can we talk?" A nervous sounding voice asked me as I stood behind the bar counter and wiped it down only for her to drop down into a seat in front of me, capturing my attention and forcing me to look up and meet her eyes. I knew she would come over and try to talk to me. I knew it the moment she had walked into the room, except it had taken her 20 minutes before she worked up the courage to come over to the opposite wall.

"Not now Bonnie." I said to the young witch, throwing down the rag and pushed my hair out of my eyes. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with whatever it is that you want to talk about."

And I wasn't. It wasn't entirely because Bonnie had hurt me with her refusal to help Godric, even though that was a good chunk of the reason. But I had to be honest and admit that my mood was already bad when I walked in to work this morning and Bonnie showing up now only further soured my already sour mood. It had been a few days since everything had gone down between Damon and I and ever since I had allowed myself to admit that I liked him, I had been feeling tense and a little short tempered, which was not me at all. I wasn't like this and I didn't like the person I was when I was stressed over something. But I was good at hiding it. I had spent time with Elena and the Salvatores since then and was able to put on a front that everything was normal. But it wasn't and Damon could tell and maybe that was the reason why he hadn't kissed me since then. And when I was alone and thinking about all this, I would start to feel this ache in my chest, almost like I was missing him. Or more accurately, missing how it felt to have him casually touch me, even when he was saying something inappropriate at the time. But even that I took in stride. And I never realized how much I liked his teasing and comments until I was too distracted to notice any more. And that how I had felt when I woke up this morning, missing him and wanting to feel his lips against mine again. But I didn't know if I would see him or if anything would happen and that bothered me, a lot. And that was why I wasn't in the best of spirits. And now with Bonnie here, it would further push me over the edge.

"Really, I think we should talk." Bonnie continued to push, laying her arms on the counter-top and leaned forward as if to whisper even though there was no one else around. "I don't like how things are with everyone."

"Well that's what happens when you make a stance on something that everyone around you thinks is wrong." I shrugged, not having the energy to raise my voice at her. "You made the choice to not do something and now you have to take the consequences that come with it."

"I know that, but I don't want my choice to ruin everyone's lives." Bonnie said, her dark brown eyes looking at me sadly but while I couldn't yell at her, I also couldn't sympathize with her. She reached over and grabbed my arm and held on to me tightly. "Look I'm sorry that you were so offended by what I'm not doing. It was never my intention to hurt you like that and I shouldn't have acted so bitchy afterward. That's not me, I swear."

"Ok. Good to know." I answered back, pulling my arm out of her grasp before her mind was opened up to me and I read her thoughts. I didn't want to know what was going on inside her head because I didn't care. I just didn't and that's how it was. I couldn't change it. "Look Bonnie, I know you want to smooth things over but that's not going to happen. It's too late for that."

"No it's not." She protested, her thin eyebrows furrowing as she looked at me in confusion. "Why would you say that? It's not like …."

"I'm already supplying Godric with blood." I blurted out, watching the surprise and then anger pass through her features before I had the nerve to say something else to continue what I needed to say. "I've given him blood twice now. There's no going back. The resurrection process has already begun. So yea, it is too late."

Bonnie didn't say a word to me after that. She just sat there and stared at me with her big brown eyes and I could only shrug and look back at her, not knowing what else to say. I don't think there really was anything left to talk about and she seemed to think the same thing because she got up and walked away. I watched her leave through the main door and I kept my eyes on her as she passed in front of the window. And then she was gone. But not before I caught wind of a retreating thought that screamed from her head and reached me as if she had been beside me.

_"...she's still giving him blood? I thought it would be one time and she would give up..Why hasn't Elena stopped her?"_

* * *

_20 minutes later_

"Elena, stop right there. We need to talk right now" Bonnie's voice came at her the minute Elena climbed out of her car from getting home from school and she turned in the graveled driveway to see her childhood best friend stomping towards her with the most livid look she had ever seen on her face.

"What the hell is going on?" Elena demanded, her hand grasping her bag tightly as she slammed the door shut just as Bonnie reached her and she glared at the girl she had once called a friend. "Why are you here?"

"I told you we needed to talk and we are going to talk whether you like it or not." Bonnie snapped, her dark eyes blinking so rapidly that it was almost as if they weren't even open. Elena had never seen Bonnie like this, so furious and rattled to the point where she looked like she was on the verge of bursting at the seems. Bonnie wrapped her hand around her upper arm and pushed her against the side of the car before saying. "How could you? How could you do that?"

"Do what?" Elena pushed back at her, not thrilled with being man handled by the girl who had been her best friend for so many years. "I didn't do anything."

"Ok, you're right. You didn't do anything and that's the damn problem." Bonnie threw her arms up in the air as she stepped back and placed her hands on her hips. "You claim to be so much better then me and then you let something like this occurred. You're no better then me at all and we both know it."

"First of all, I never claimed to be better then you because I'm not. I'm not better then any one person because I'm not perfect. And I know that. But for you to point that out to me is just not right. And frankly, I'm getting sick and tired of your crap." Elena spat out, not feeling the slightest bit bad about anything that came out of her mouth. She didn't want to fight with Bonnie, again. But Bonnie had pushed her too far this time and she wasn't just to keep letting it roll off her back as if it were nothing. It was something. "What is this about? You're here yelling at me about me not doing something, so why don't you explain that one so we can argue when everything makes sense."

"I went to go see Allison a little while ago, hoping that we could put this whole thing behind us once and for all and she told me something very interesting." Bonnie hissed, tucking her hair behind her ears when the wind blew across the yard and whipped it into her face. Bonnie's forehead wrinkled in annoyance and anger once more before she shook her head in disbelief. "She said she gave Godric blood. Not just once, but twice now."

"She didn't have a choice." Elena retorted, defending Allison's actions because she felt they were right. "You wouldn't help her and she was desperate to get him out. She did what she had to do."

"I cannot believe it. I just can't." Bonnie exclaimed, turning her back on Elena as she began pacing along the edge of the driveway. She stopped when she was a few feet away and whipped back to face her slapping her hip and she yelled. "You're still letting her give him her blood?"

"Will you listen to yourself for once?" Elena shouted, throwing down her bag and her school books in frustration. "Allison is 23 years old, ok? She is a grown woman and she makes her own decisions. I can't stop her from doing this."

"Then you are not a real friend." Bonnie said, her voice going quiet and she bit her bottom lip before sighing angrily. "That's it Elena, I'm done. I wipe my hands of this whole mess."

"There's nothing to wipe since you were never in this mess to begin with." Elena shot back, watching her words hit Bonnie and cause the girl to clench her fists into balls at her side. "And that makes you the one that is not a real friend, not me."

"You know, I'm so glad I am walking away right now before I do something I will seriously regret." Bonnie answered with her hands in the air as she backed away down the driveway, taking steps that seemed way too final with their sturdiness. "We'll talk again in a few days when we have both calmed down."

"Not likely." Elena muttered, leaning down to gather up her books and bag before walking up the pathway towards her house. She didn't bother looking back because she knew Bonnie would probably already be halfway down to the road. And it didn't matter anyway because she had no desire to set her eyes on that girl again. She was just so full of anger at the moment and she too didn't want it to get to the point where something was said or done that couldn't be taken back.

* * *

_Later that night_

"Hey. What are you guys doing here?" I asked in surprise as I looked up from digging in my purse for my keys to see Stefan and Elena walking towards me and I smiled, glad to see them and having my mood lift for the first time all day.

After Bonnie had left a few hours before and I could no longer hear any more of her thoughts, I had returned to work. But my attitude hadn't been all that great, so I took a small break which I rarely ever did and went for a walk to clear my head. And boy did it do wonders. By the time I came back, I was smiling and the thoughts I had about Bonnie and the Godric situation didn't affect me nearly as much as they had earlier during the day. I was so happy about that and I was able to spend the next couple of hours hurtling myself from table to table, taking orders and returning with trays of food that I didn't mix up or drop, which would have happened if my heard had been as occupied as it was before. But it wasn't and I was able to function like I always had been and the rest of my shift went by pretty fast. So fast, that I forgot I was suppose to be leaving at 7 and the manager had to remind me to go home and that's when I went to the back to grab my coat and my bag so I could get out of there. But now Elena and Stefan were here and I wanted a second to talk to them before I left. I would have hung out for a bit but I had something I had to do before I went home. Something I didn't want to do too late into the night.

"Hey Allie." Stefan greeted me with a smile and a tight hug that I returned before we pulled back at the same time. "Are you just heading out?"

"Yea, my shift literally just ended 10 minutes ago." I nodded, finally locating my keys in a forgotten zipper compartment in my bag and pulled them out with a flourish. "And I need to head home and do some things."

"Before you do that, there is something that you need to know." Elena spoke up, looking at Stefan with a wicked grin that aroused my suspicions because he returned it back just as strong. I was about to comment on it when Elena beat me to it and explained the reasoning behind the smirks. "Damon wants to see you. He's waiting outside by your car."

"Really?" I asked, unable to stop the shy smile that came over my face at this announcement and I clicked my tongue between my teeth before wiggling my fingers in a wave at them. "See you later."

I didn't even wait to hear what they would say and just headed right across the now crowded room and out the front door, nearly knocking over a few people in my haste to get outside. I apologized and then started walking again, amazed that my mood had taken such an upturn the moment I heard Damon wanted to see me. I didn't know what it was about him that had me rushing so fast to get him but that's exactly what I was doing. And it seemed strange to me especially when I had spent a majority of the last few days pretending that nothing was any different between us. And even this morning my mood had been so horrible because I was tense and stressed out like I had never been before. But that was all forgotten as I passed through the opening in the fence that led to the back parking lot and I stopped as soon as I spotted my car and the figure leaning against it. Elena was right, Damon really was waiting for me.

"It took you long enough. I was just about ready to give it up and go home." Damon called out to me as I walked across the dark pavement and as soon as I was within a few feet of him, I felt his hand grab my hips and pull me to him. It wasn't a second after he did that, that his lips were on mine, kissing me the way I had been craving about since he first did it a few days ago. I found myself grinning and kissing him back, grabbing his shoulders and relishing the feel of his trademark leather jacket under my small hands as his tongue skimmed the surface of my lips, not entering my mouth and just teasing me. He was the first to pull back and of course he was smirking, but there was something underneath the smirk that made me catch my breath. I felt his fingers reach up and tucked my hair behind my ear , before curling around my face and saying. "So...you want to get out of here?"

"Yea, I do." I answered back with a smirk of my own and placed my hand on his face, cupping his cold cheek in my palm. I was so happy to be around him again that I stood up on my tip toes so I could kiss him once more. His hands left my hair the second our lips met and he snaked one of his arms around my waist, pulling me up against him. But before it could get too deep, I pushed back at his shoulder and moved my face away so I could speak. "But I have something I have to do first."

"And I think I know what that is." He replied, raising his eyebrows before reaching down to my hand and snatching my keys away without me noticing he was going to do it before hand. He nodded over to my car. "Get in. I'll drive."

"Oh dear god, that cannot be a good sign."

* * *

_15 minutes later_

"You must really enjoy dark, underground spaces since you come here so much." Damon commented as he led Allison through the darkness of the tomb to the tunnel where Godric was waiting and smirked when he felt her hand tighten on his arm. "And you must really get a thrill out of grabbing on to me at opportune moments."

"I forgot my flashlight at home, you moron." She shot back and he could picture her rolling her green eyes at him in the dark as they made their way around the corner. They entered the opening of the corridor they were looking for, and she left his side and rushed forward, seemingly forgetting about him as she reached the moonlight and came to a stop at the same time as the ghostly figure appeared on the other side. "Hey Godric."

"Allison, always a true joy to see you." Godric answered back, and Damon could see the transparent smile that he shot at her before he looked around her body and met his eyes, an unreadable expression on his face. "And you brought a friend."

"You know Damon." Allison turned back to him, motioning him forward to the two of them which he did willing but leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed as Godric sent him a look that basically asked what the hell was he doing here. And he would have answered but Allison beat him to it and spoke first. "I asked him to come with me. So it's ok."

"It better be." Godric nodded, looking slightly protectively as Allison knelt down to where she had dropped her bag and began pulling stuff out of it. Damon watched in a little bit of fascination as he saw her set down an IV tube complete with a needle and an empty plastic bottle before she started shrugging out of her jacket and tossing it aside and rolling up her sleeve. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, giving you blood if you couldn't tell." Allison laughed, shaking her head as she started flicking on her arm to get a vein to pop out. Damon watched her do this and clenched his hands when he could practically see the blood flowing through her veins right under the surface of her skin. She went to go pick up the needle but before she could bring it anywhere near her arm, she was stopped when Godric suddenly grew concerned and had no problem expressing it.

"Don't take this personally, but are you out of your mind?" Godric asked point blank, causing Allison to pause with the needle in mid air as she looked at him. But it was Damon who Godric was looking back at and the two immortals stared at each other, Damon feeling like he was under scrutiny despite his previous good idea of coming here a few weeks ago to find out how else to help him. But Godric was looking at him almost like he was suspicious of Damon's intentions. "Do you really think it's safe to draw blood in the presence of a vampire?"

"Are you serious?" Allison asked, her voice full of shock and she actually dropped her hands down and cocked her head to the side. "He's not going to hurt me."

"Allison, please." Godric glanced away from her and right at him before rolling his eyes. "Don't be so naïve . Fairy blood is the most intoxicating blood in existence. No vampire can resist it when it flows so freely in front of them. Do not take the risk."

"You worry too much." She stated, picking up the needle again and before either one of them could protest, she slide it into her arm, placing a piece of tape over it to hold it down and then she looked up with a smile as the blood began running through the tube and down into the empty bottle. "See? Nothing is going to happen to me."

"It sounds like you trust him." Godric commented, once again throwing him a look that Damon only found himself being amused at. Allison moved her head to the side so their eyes met and Damon found his focus being drawn to her but not because of the blood flowing out of her arm.

"I do trust him." Allison said with conviction and a smile and Damon felt a surge of smugness go through him at her words. She looked at him like she trusted him and she had to have believed that because no human in their right mind would start an IV of blood in front of a live vampire unless there was some trust involved.

"So relax old man. Nothing bad will happen to her. She's safe." He told Godric with a smirk, still feeling proud at Allison's statement before he looked at the transparent, older vampire and grinned. "So shut up and just drink her blood like you're supposed to."

There was silence for the next few minutes as they three of them sat there while the bottle slowly filled up with blood. As this was happening, Damon found his eyes drawn back to Allison, watching as she set her arm on top of her knee and then rested her chin on top and closed her eyes, as if she were enjoying the quiet. She looked peaceful and happy and he liked looking at her when she had this expression on her face because he didn't think he had ever seen it. And he wanted to savor it for as long as he could. He broke his stare only once, to glace over at Godric to see what he was doing, only to see the older vamp shaking his head at him with a smile on his face as if he knew something and wasn't commenting on it. Damon ignored him again, keeping his eyes on Allison as she sat there on the floor and no words were spoken as the blood level continued to rise and it was because of this that Godric spoke up.

"You shouldn't be giving me so much blood at one time." He pointed out, the protective look back on his face for the 3rd time within the span of 12 minutes and Damon wanted to throw a rock through the moonlight at him. "It's not healthy."

"I'll be fine. Just stop worrying." She assured, removing the needle from her arm and quickly placed a bandage over the tiny wound before twisting the cap on the bottle and rolling it across the dirt until it passed through the moonlight and over to Godric who picked it up with some hesitation. Allison quickly packed up and grabbed her jacket, throwing it on and then started climbing to her feet, only to become unsteady and she stumbled, almost falling down but he rushed forward and grabbed her, putting his arm around her while Godric watched this whole thing without saying a word. Allison waved goodbye as Damon steered her out of the tunnel and then whisked her up into his arms so they could get out of there faster. It was only when they were on solid ground did he put her back on her feet.

"Do you always have to almost pass out when we are down there?"

_10 minutes later..._

"Can I ask you something?" Damon found himself saying after they had gotten back into her car and had begun driving through the woods on that familiar dirt road and he turned to look at her, seeing her huddled in her seat with her head leaning against the window and a slightly glazed over look in her eyes. She looked him, her face seemed tired already in just that short amount of time they had spent down there. "Why are you putting yourself through all this?"

"Because he would have done the same for me." She replied right away, shrugging her dainty shoulders as she sat up and placed her hands on top of her legs. "I mean, besides the fact that I feel like I have this debt I have to pay him back for, I just think that if the situation were reversed he would do the same thing without any hesitation."

"You're a good friend." He muttered, turning his eyes back to the road while thinking about about how nice it would be to reach out and pull her towards him. He had been dreaming about feeling her body against him for the past 2 days and it would so easy to just grab her right now. But he didn't want to bother her when she had just given up a good amount of blood to save someone, so he would just have to settle with looking at her. That would be enough for him. But apparently it wasn't to her because the next minute he felt her warm fingers curl over his, shocking him because he didn't even notice her raising her arm to do it. He turned to look at her, only to find her smiling.

"You're a good friend too Damon." She informed him and left her hand over his for the rest of the drive back.


	23. Progress Part 2

**Chapter 23 Progress Part 2**

_Back at the Salvatore house_

"You know, you didn't have to take me back to your house." I told Damon as he rushed up the stairs as soon we stepped foot in the house and set me down on the floor of his bedroom and stepped away. " I would have been fine by myself."

"You're never fine after giving blood. You've done it three times now and it's always the same reaction." He pointed out with an all knowing smirk as he walked over to the refrigerator and opened it, only to pull out a bottle of water and toss it over to me. "Drink, you need at least some fluids in you or else you will feel worse off then you do now."

"Thanks." I said, unscrewing the top and taking a long, cool sip. I looked at Damon as he walked over to a desk sitting in the corner of the room and he dropped down into the chair behind it and began moving things around. I frowned, not understanding his actions. "What? You're not going to force me to do something crazy and wild tonight?"

"Not tonight. There will be other nights for that." Damon replied wickedly, looking up from a book he had pulled out and sent a smirk my way before it turned more serious. "But you just gave a lot of blood and you need to rest. So rest."

"What, here? On your bed?" I couldn't stop the heat that spread across my cheeks at his suggestion and of course I knew he would comment on it which he totally did. "Are you serious?"

"Well, it's the only other way I will get you in my bed without sounding sleazy." He tried to appear innocent, but I could see the sparkle in his eyes as he spoke and I knew better then to think that this was him being genuine and innocent. But I was tired after seeing Godric and I knew if I wanted to drive myself home then I would need some relaxation time and that would mean here. Damon's eyes were still on me when he spoke again. "Oh come on, you know you want to be there."

"Only because I lack the energy to fight you on this." I protested, kicking my shoes off before walking over to the side of the bed and setting my water down on the table next to it. I paused for a minute, feeling weird about laying down in another man's bed, but then I just pushed it aside and laid down on top of the covers and stretched myself out, catching Damon's eyes again and I sent him a look. "What?"

"Oh nothing." He shook his head, laughing slightly to himself before dropping his chin in his hand and staring right at me. "You just look really good in my bed, that's all."

"You would say that." I grumbled, moving down so I could lay my head on the plush pillow that was there and curled my body up, keeping my eyes on Damon the entire time. "But thank you. I know this is coming from a good place inside of you."

"What makes you think there is a good place in me?" He asked, lifting his head up so our faces met. "Maybe I am just good at bullshitting people to believing what I want them to believe."

"No, I don't think that is true." I told him, smiling at his insistence that he was nothing more then a selfish monster. I knew that wasn't true. Damon may be a lot of things, but he wasn't a monster. A monster wouldn't have left me alive when I was letting my blood flow the way it was down in that tomb. A monster wouldn't have helped me back to the car and held my hand on the drive home. A monster wouldn't be offering me his bed so I could rest while he sat on the other side of the room. That wasn't a monster. That was a friend. And that was Damon.

"Now you're the one staring at me weirdly." He commented, breaking me out of my thoughts and I found him watching me, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason. Just realizing that there is more to you then you are willing to show." I stated, smirking when he began shaking his head in denial. "Who are you trying to fool Damon? Cause it's not me."

"Oh shut up."

* * *

_40 minutes later_

"Can I ask about Eric?" Damon suddenly asked as the thought hit him and he turned in his chair to look over at Allie sitting on the edge of his bed who was now staring at him with a small frown on her face and he could kind of see why. She had barely spoken about her ex since explaining their past and since then he had grown sort of curious about the vampire she had been involved with before him. Not that he liked to think of her being with someone else, but he knew that she felt they were very similar vampires and he was curious about exactly what ways.

He wanted to know what had it been about this Eric guy that got a smart girl like Allison to fall for him. Because although Damon had only met her a little over 2 months ago, he still felt like he knew her pretty well and it baffled him to remember what she had told him about the demise of her last relationship. Not that he was surprised because from what he heard from her, Eric was a real tool bag. He had to be to let a girl like Allison slip through his fingers. But what was it that had gotten her to fall for him in the first place. Because Damon stood by what he said before, Allie was smart and wouldn't just get involved with vampires like that, especially since she had kept him at bay for a majority of the time she had been here. And it wasn't like Eric could glamor her since that tactic just didn't work on her. So there had to be something good in this jackass for Allie to even consider being with him and Damon wanted to know what. And if he were truthful about why he wanted to know, it would be because he didn't want to make the same mistake as Eric. He didn't want to hurt her like she had already been hurt and was still hurting. He cared for her too much. Even if he only ever admitted it to himself.

"Do not ask me about Eric." She replied back, her gaze kept on her toes and not at him when she spoke. He could sense her heart quicken the moment this conversation started and it wasn't in a good way. "I don't want to talk about him. Not now, not ever."

"Why not?" He asked, a frown settling on his face as he watched her start to fidget and there was a strange heaviness slipping into his chest as he looked at her. And it wouldn't be until a minute that he understood why.

"Because he broke me that's why." She exclaimed and it was then that the tears started falling down her cheeks and he now knew the reason why he had felt so strangely. She looked up at him through watery eyes and shook her head. "He broke me so bad. And I told you that already. If you can't remember that conversation, then I have no business being around you."

That's when she got to her feet and began moving towards the door, intending to leave but he didn't want her to go. So he stopped her. He rushed forward, a great perk of being a vampire, and was able to step in her path and grab her arms to stall her in place. He immediately saw a frown spread across her face and she struggled to get away from him but even without her already being weak from giving blood, she still was no match for his strength. He lifted his foot behind him and kicked the door shut before he met her eyes and tightened his grip on her arms.

"Damon what the hell. Let me go." She snapped, wiggling around under his hands but she couldn't go any where and when she finally realized that she went still and tilted her head back to look at him. "What are you doing?"

"I don't want you to go." He admitted, biting on the corner of his mouth as he said this. He didn't like saying what was on his mind because he always felt like it was a weakness. But if he didn't forget about that then she was going to walk out of here and he wanted her to stay longer. And if that meant looking weak, well then to hell with it. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up Eric."

"No, you shouldn't have." She mumbled, dropping her eyes down to the floor between them and sighed. "I spend a majority of my time trying not to think about him because when I do, well...i fall apart. And I fell apart enough 2 months ago. I won't let it do that again."

"Please say. I'll never bring up Eric or your past ever again unless you ask me to." He promised, moving his hands and bringing them to her face and pulled it up to meet his again. "Just don't go. We don't even have to say anything else for the rest of the night. But just stay here...with me."

Allison didn't say anything and just looked at him for a minute as she appeared to be contemplating what to do. And then she slipped away from him and went back to the bed to sit down. And she didn't move again, she just sat there and looked him straight in the eye before her mouth opened and she spoke.

"Alright. I'll stay."

* * *

_20 minutes later_

"I thought you would stop crying by now." Damon spoke up from the opposite end of his bedroom where he was sitting in a comfortable looking chair while I was still on the bed where he had left me. He had his legs draped over the side of the arms and there was an open book on his lap, but his eyes were on me.

"I'm not crying." I protested, wiping the remaining tears off my face as I drew my legs up to my chest and set my chin down on top of my knees. I kept my eyes on my socks and wiggled my toes so I wouldn't have to look at him.

"You looked like you still were." He pointed out, and I could hear him slam the book shut and toss it somewhere before he flashed forward and was now sitting beside me against the headboard with his legs stretched out in front of him and his hands tucked under his arms. I felt him nudge me with his elbow before he asked. "Where's your mind at?"

"You know where my mind is at Damon." I answered back, turning my head to the side so I could look at him and I must have looked sad because he started frowning as if he didn't know how to react to me. I just shrugged and looked forward again, breaking off contact. "You put Eric there and now I can't get him out. Thanks a lot for that."

He didn't say anything for the longest time after that and neither did I. I just sat there next to him staring at the comforter, the wall, the floor anywhere but at him. I didn't want to look at his face and see him smirking at my show of weakness. Or worse, I didn't want to meet his eyes only for him to start teasing me again. I just didn't have the energy to fight that off tonight like I would normally. So I kept my focus forward, hoping that he would leave the whole thing alone and we could forget about it. But it seemed like that just wasn't in the cards because a few minutes later, I saw Damon's hand start to sneak towards my arm intending to grab me. I was going to ask what he was doing but he acted before the words left my mouth and his strong hands pulled me forward and I found myself lying flat on my back on his bed staring up at the ceiling before he came into my line of vision, laying his body over mine as if to insure I wouldn't go anywhere. His face hovered over mine, his blue eyes sending a small shock through me as I squirmed to get comfortable under his heavy body and finally I met his eyes and sighed.

"What are you doing?" I asked softly, hating how quiet my voice had gotten and that had nothing with my weakened physical state. Damon's eyes were right above mine and it was nearly impossible to look away, especially when I zeroed in on the expression in his blue orbs. "What?"

"I'm sorry." He said roughly, not sounding all that comfortable when the words left his mouth and he even frowned when he said it. But something told me to dismiss it. His fingers came up to my face, caressing my jawline for a second before he spoke again. "I didn't mean to make you sad."

"You didn't make me sad, he did. Because its still a shitty situation." I mumbled, drawing my eyes away for a minute as Eric's face went through my head and I let out a shaky breath. "I just...still find myself getting lost in old memories whenever his name is brought up. And I hate it."

"And I don't help with that." He pressed his lips together into a tight line but I could still feel his cold breath on my face. He glanced down at me and gave me one of the most genuine smiles I had ever seen on his face. "Want me to help you forget about him?"

"More then anything." I smiled back, reaching up to wrap both my hands around his neck and pulled him forward until his lips were crashing against mine, igniting the spark that was between us since the very beginning. His body moved against mine as we kissed, causing friction to crackle between us and I felt this aching, pain deep inside of me. Not a bad pain, but a pain that craved something my body hadn't had in a while. A secret flame of desire that was so small that it went unnoticed by Damon but not by me. I knew how my body felt and it was certainly feeling something in this moment with Damon.

Something that I wasn't prepared to feel this quickly.

* * *

_Back at her apartment_

"This has been the craziest fucking night in the history of fucked up nights." I mumbled to myself as I walked into my bedroom and kicked off my shoes by the closet and began pulling my clothes off my body and just dropping them in a pile at my feet. I didn't bother to toss them in the hamper as I reached for a short night gown with thin straps, making sure it didn't pull off the bandage on my arm as I yanked it over me. I just wanted to do the least bit possible so I could jump into bed and fall asleep. It had been a long and interesting night to say the least, and I couldn't wait to climb under the blankets and let sleep take me into a dream state where I was hoping I would see Damon. I grinned as soon as his name entered my head and I remembered how it had felt to be around him tonight. Besides the fact that he had made me cry when he brought up Eric and our past, it had still been wonderful to be around the young, dark haired vampire. I smiled when I remembered how we had held hands inside the car on the way back to his house and the way he had stood up to Godric and defended that I would be safe in his presence when drawing blood. And I really smiled at the memory of him and I kissing on his bed after he promised to make me forget Eric. Damon and been sweet to me tonight and he did what he promised. And boy did I forget. As tired and as weak as I felt, I still walked into my apartment with a smile on my face.

"Alright, time to shut off the lights and go to bed. I have an all day shift tomorrow." I groaned, remembering my work schedule as I shuffled out of my room and towards the front door to make sure I had locked it and slide the chain to secure it. I then walked into the kitchen, knowing I should at least get some fluids in me before I fell asleep and reached into the refrigerator for a bottle of orange juice and a small glass. I was going to head back to my room and sit in bed while I drank and watched TV but as I shut the light off in the kitchen and was moving across the carpet, my attention was caught by the sight of the blinking red light on my answering machine. I hadn't noticed when I got in, having gone right into my bedroom to change but now I was curious to see who had called my apartment and left a message instead of calling my cell phone. I set the bottle and the glass down on the counter-top and pressed my finger on the play back button and stood with my arms crossed as I waited for it to play. And when it did, I wasn't expecting the voice that came out of it, hypnotizing me with that familiar tone that had caused me to fall in love with him in the first place.

"_Allison Stackhouse, you silly silly girl. I find it hard to believe that it has been over 2 months since you have left and I figured this madness would have ended by now, but it hasn't. Your absence is making me crazy. It's torture not having you here. I want you to come home."_

"Oh Eric." I breathed out slowly, running my fingers over the edge of the counter as I slide into the chair in front of it and set my elbows on the surface so I could hide my face in my hands. His voice, oh god that voice of his still had the power to cause my entire body to erupt into tingles. And even the passage of 2 months hadn't changed that.

I wasn't prepared to hear his voice again so soon. But then again, I don't know if I would ever be able to prepare myself to hear from him even if I had years to do it. I would just never be able to stop the sweat that broke out across my forehead the moment his voice reached my ears or how my body immediately began to crave for his touch and the feel of his lips against mine and kissing all over my body. I would never be able to forget the nights we spent together in his bed and in mine. I still cherished those memories because they had been my first experiences of intimacies and they were what taught me about love and sex and how to be close to a person in the rawest sense of the word. But now, those very memories were what was killing me deep down inside. They were slowly eating away at my heart, leaving in its wake an aching festering void that could not be filled because I could not have what I desired. And a part of me still desired Eric. But I couldn't remember that. I couldn't allow myself to get lost in the memory of what I had and lost not all that long ago. Because the moment I did that, then I would lose all the progress I had made since coming here and I couldn't do that. I had packed up and left my home and my friends and family to get away from the pain in the first place. I didn't want to invite it in again and feel all the things I had felt in the moment when it had nearly killed me. I just couldn't, it was too much and I just couldn't take it anymore. I barely survived the pain in the first onslaught over two months ago and it had just about destroyed every part of me. I don't think I could survive it again.

"I hate that you still have a hold on my heart Eric. I wished you didn't, but I can't pretend like that's not true. Because we both know that is the truest thing we both know." I said out loud as if he were standing right in front of me and in reality I knew that I should have picked up the phone and said this and everything I had been thinking just now, to him but I didn't. Instead, I reached over and hit the replay button, and sat back as his voice washed over me again and I listened to his pleas.

_".. Your absence is making me crazy. It's torture not having you here. I want you to come home..."_

I immediately moved my finger to the erase button and hit it, taking away Eric's message for good and leaving nothing behind but silence. Then I slide off the chair to grab my orange juice and my glass and walked away to my room, determined that this was going to be the beginning of my new life.

**A/n: So i felt the need to take a second to inform everyone that this fic is quickly coming to an end. there are only a few more chapters left until its over and i am so happy so many of your stuck around for this sequel. As you know there will be a third installement, coming up so this crazy journey doesn't end just yet. so stick with me to the end...its gets incredible, if i do say so myself. Countdown to the finale has begun! 10 chapters to go till the end**


	24. Miss you like crazy

**Chapter 24 Miss you like crazy**

"Well, well, you are certainly in a good mood today aren't you?" The day time manager Tony said to me as I walked into the back room with a smile on my face and a skip in my step the next day when I came into work and sat down in a chair to re-tie my shoelaces. He was checking off a list of inventory on a clipboard when he saw me come in and stopped writing to question me about my high spirits. "What happened to put that goofy grin on your face?"

"Nothing in particular. Just having a better day then I've had in a very long time." I told him, not mentioning anything specific because I had tried to keep that as out of my job life as much as I could. There was no need to mention Eric or Damon or anything involving them so I just pretended to chalk it up to nothing all that important. "I just got a really good couple of days rest and I feel more energized that's all."

That was so not true in any aspect. It wasn't rest or renewed energy that had put me in a much better mood then I had ever been before. It was due to what had happened last night after I listened to Eric's message and what had gone through my head after I erased it. I wasn't going to lie, hearing his voice on my answering machine had made something stir inside of me and I would be kidding myself if I said I didn't have a slight urge to get in my car and drive home so I could see him in person. But I fought back against that urge, knowing that it would only hurt me in the end and that was why I had erased his message without a second thought. And as soon as I did that, I felt a surge of empowerment come over me in that moment. I had taken the first steps to truly moving on by not calling him back or even saving his message. It was a wake up call to me that I was starting to realize that I did not need Eric Northman in my life anymore. And as slow as the process was, I was beginning to get over him. I would never be able to forget him because when I did go home, I was going to see him, that was just unavoidable. And he was the first man that I had ever loved and you never forget your first love. But Eric and I just had so many problems and as much as I still loved him, I knew that him and I being together was just not the right thing for me right now. Maybe we would try again in the future, but for now I was happy with where I was at in my new life with my new friends and with Damon.

"Ah, there goes that smile again." Tony pointed out to me, breaking me out of my thoughts and I was brought back to the present to see him smiling at me like a proud father would. "You should smile more often. It is so nice to see you happy."

"I think it will be happening a lot more these days." I told him, finishing tightening the laces on my black sneakers before I pulled out the elastic at the end of my long braid and began to shake my hair loose. "I think things are changing for me finally. I am starting to feel settled here and I like the people of this town. I think it could feel like another home to me."

"Speaking of people..." Tony began to say as the idea seemed to just hit him and he touched his finger to his temple. "There was a young man that was asking for you when you were out back. I told him I would send you as soon as you came back in."

"What was his name?" I asked, frowning because I couldn't recall any man who had interacted with me enough since I had been here that would know me by name except for Stefan and Damon. And given that it was 1 in the afternoon, it obviously couldn't be them. "I don't really know any other men here besides the Salvatore brothers. Maybe you heard him wrong. Maybe he was asking for someone else."

"No he was definitely asking for you. He seemed to know you pretty well." Tony replied, scratching his head trying to remember the name and finally he just threw his hands up. "Oh it just won't come to me. But he's out at a table in the dinning room waiting for you."

"Thanks Tony." I smiled at my boss as I passed him by on my way out of the break room. "I won't be idle for too long."

I walked through the kitchen with my hands running through my hair to comb it back out as I tried to figure who it was that had been requesting my presence. I honestly had no idea and even reading Tony's mind had done no good. When I showed up in the dining area, I immediately began scanning the tables but aside from a few regulars who came in every day and sat in the same spot, it was virtually empty. I looked at the booths lining the walls and found them also to be void of any bodies. I frowned, ready to turn around and go back to the break room to tell Tony there was no one there, when I heard footsteps coming across the room at me. I didn't turn around, figuring it was one of the other waitresses and just ignored it. But when the steps paused and a deep voice spoke, I nearly felt my knees give out because I recognized that voice right away.

"Hello stranger." That deep voice and caring tone was a noise that I couldn't forget even despite the passage of time. And when I whipped around to face him, I couldn't stop the wide spread grin stretching across my face or the swell inside my chest as my eyes landed on my best friend standing just a few feet away from me.

"Sam." I said quietly, before rushing forward and throwing myself into his arms.

* * *

_5 minutes later_

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." Allison's voice kept on saying into his ear, her breath falling cool like a fresh wind on his skin as she tightened her arms around him and pressed herself into his embrace without even a pause. "I can't believe you're here. I just can't believe it."

Sam grinned, hugging her back in return, ecstatic at her reaction to him showing up the way he had with no call or text or any kind of warning to prepare herself for this. But she seemed beyond happy to see him and that gave him a thrill like no other because he had doubts about whether this was a good idea or not when it first entered his head. He had been sitting at home on his bed thinking about her and how long it had been since he had seen her last and it just started making him feel low and depressed. At least until it passed through his head, what if he just packed a bag and went to see her? He knew where she was living and he knew where she worked, so it wouldn't be too hard to track her down. But then he started thinking about how she would feel about him surprising her like that out of no where. The whole point of her leaving Bon Temps was so she could get away from anything reminding her of her old life, including him and Sookie. And after seeing her in the state she had been in, he was more then happy to abide by her wishes, even though it killed him to be apart from her. He hated feeling like he was losing his best friend even though she had promised that she would eventually return. It had still been a very long and lonely 2 months without her and he had begun to reach the point where he just couldn't stay away any longer. And even if she sent him away upon laying her eyes on him, at least he could have that split second of seeing her. And that split second would make that long drive here worth it.

"Sam, what the hell are you doing here?" She asked, pulling away from him her hands clasping together and coming up close to her chest in excitement, the happiness evident in her sparkling green eyes. She did not look like the broken girl who had left them all behind, she was healing and she was putting herself back together. She was looking like herself again. "I had no idea you were coming here. Sookie didn't tell me."

"That's because I didn't tell her. I didn't tell anyone." He replied, grinning as he stood back with his arms crossed and observed her with a shake of his head. "Damn, you look so good. And much happier then when I last saw you."

"Thanks." She grinned in response, her hands twirling her hair which had grown longer in their time apart. "You look good too. Time apart hasn't changed you at all."

"Thanks?" He asked in confirmation and smiled when she nodded, her response setting loose a cloud of butterflies in his stomach and he forced himself to not get lost in that kind of thinking while he stood in front of her and explained his reasoning for coming here. "I just couldn't go any longer without seeing you. I know we all agreed to stay away and only stay in contact over the phone but that just wasn't working for me any more. I needed to see you. So I left Lafayette and Terry in charge of the bar and just told everyone I going on a road trip to clear my head and that's when I got in my car and drove here. I knew where you worked from talking to Sookie and it didn't take me long to find it. You don't hate that I'm here are you?"

"Are you kidding? I'm thrilled that you are here." She gushed, flinging back her hair and throwing herself back into his arms to squeeze him tightly. "If there was anyone from Bon Temps that I would want to show up unexpectedly it would be you. I'm so damn glad it was you. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." He answered with an even wider grin, forgetting how wonderful it was to hold her in his arms. It felt just as wonderful as it had when they had parted, except they weren't saying goodbye this time. They were reuniting and Sam couldn't help how happy he felt standing there with her pressed against him. "Does your shift end any time soon?"

"No I have to be here until 7 tonight, I'm sorry." She grumbled, looking annoyed when those words left her mouth but then her face lit up and she started patting her pockets and pulled out a key that she handed to him before saying. "But why don't you go to my apartment and hang out there until I come home? At least then you won't have to go check into a hotel and it's just down the street and around the corner, 3 blocks from here, apartment 22 B. It's a big brick building, you can't miss it."

"Are you sure?" He asked, not wanting to put her out within the first moments of showing up but she was already nodding her head and using her fingers to curl his hand around the key.

"Yes I'm sure, I have a spare bedroom you can stay in and with you being in town to specifically visit me, I would rather you be close by." She insisted, nodding quickly with a happy sigh. "Please say yes."

"Well of course its a yes. I could never say no to that face." He grinned, reaching out to brush his hand against her cheek. "I just didn't want to overwhelm you by staying with you at your apartment when you see me for the first time in over 2 months. I just wanted to ease you in."

"Oh forget that and just do what I say." She ordered, a huge grin on her lips as she hit him in the shoulder and backed away, pointing behind her to a door in the wall. "I have to go back to work but I will see you later tonight, ok?"

"Yea, you will." He agreed, slipping her key in his back pocket and was prepared to turn around and head back out the door to his car so he could drive over to her building. But he was stopped when Allison called out to him and he had barely turned back around before she was back in his arms again for another bone crushing hug. He wrapped his arm around her tiny frame, squeezing her gently to him. "What was that for?"

"I'm just...really, really glad to see you." She exclaimed, her eyes sparkling again as she looked at him and walked away again. "See you later."

"See ya." He waved back, watching her as she went behind the bar on the opposite end of the big room and begin fiddling around with the glasses and drinks, looking right at home as if she were still working for him. He was mesmerized by her for a few minutes, just observing the way she looked and moved. And it was then in those few moment that he noticed the way she had changed since their good byes. Although her voice had been full of energy and excitement, her face showed signs of looking tired, like she had been doing something that was stealing her energy. Perhaps she was just working too much and that was to explain her tired appearance and thinner frame. She was too thin in his opinion but he still found her incredibly beautiful and when she looked up to smile at him, he smiled back. The decision to come here on a whim was the right way to go.

* * *

_Later that night_

"Oh my god. What has gotten into you?" Elena demanded furiously the moment she sat down in front of me at the bar and set her brown eyes on me curiously. "What did you do that has you grinning like you...like you.."

"Like what?" I asked her, amused by how she had immediately zeroed in on my spirits which had gone through the roof and assumed it was because of something I did. "What are you getting at Elena?"

"It looks like you just had mind blowing sex and you can't stop smiling about it. That's what I am getting at." She said quietly, leaning forward to whisper to me even though there was no one else there at the counter. "Did you and Damon..."

"What? No." I exclaimed, pulling back with my eyebrows raised and blush spreading across my cheeks. It wasn't so much that she had said it that shocked me, but it was more due to the fact that it was a tiny thought that had been flaming in the back of my mind and hearing someone else say made it burn just a little bit more. "That's so far from the truth that I want to laugh. But speaking of Damon, where is he? I assume you didn't come in here alone."

"Oh the boys are just out hunting in the woods. They'll be along shortly." She explained, waving her hands in the air as if that wasn't important. "So are you ready to hang out with us tonight?"

"Oh shit." I groaned, slapping myself in the forehead as I suddenly remembered that I had made plans with Elena and Stefan and Damon for tonight after I got off work. I meant to call her cell phone Sam had showed up to tell her I couldn't make it but a crowd had come in suddenly and I was kept busy for the rest of the day up until now when I saw her. "I completely forgot to call you. I kind of have to cancel for tonight."

"That sucks, I was really looking forward to it." Elena shrugged, the disappointment in her face showed but then it was like a light bulb had gone off in her head and she leaned forward again. "Are you canceling because you and Damon want to be alone so you can..."

"Oh my god, you are just as bad as Damon with always thinking it has to do with sex." I shook my head, but unable to stop the laugh that escaped my lips. I let a huge breath come out through my nose as I rolled my eyes. "No, I just got surprised with a visitor from out of town earlier today and I wanted to spend time with him."

"Him?" Elena's eyebrows shot up into her hairline and a wicked smile came over her features. "You have an out of town gentleman caller?"

"Gentleman caller? Who the hell says that anymore?" I heckled at her, not needing to read her mind to know that her mind was obviously in the gutter tonight. I couldn't remember ever thinking the way she did when I was her age. "No, it's actually my best friend Sam from back home. He came here to see me after me being away for a few months."

"Aw that's sweet." Elena's face relaxed into a more calm expression as she ran her hands through her hair and looked around the room. "Is he here right now?"

"Actually yes." I nodded to the booth all the way to the wall opposite from us and pointed to Sam, who had come in just 10 minutes ago to wait for my shift to be over and was currently eating dinner and nursing his second beer of the night. I watched Elena follow my eye line and my arm to where Sam was sitting and was amused when her eyes landed on him and grew wide. "What?"

"Holy crap. He's hot." Elena kept her attention on him for at least a full two minutes before she manged to look away and look at me again. "That's what the men look like where you're from? Damn."

"I know, nice right?" I couldn't deny that Sam was good looking, because he was, he totally was. But there just wasn't anything brewing between him and I. And I think he knew that too, but it didn't mean I didn't still notice his attractiveness. "So can you explain to the guys about this? I wish I had called you earlier, but things got so busy that I never got the chance."

"No problem, they actually just walked in so I will go talk to them now." Elena stated, nodding to the other end of the room where Stefan and Damon were indeed sitting at a table and were watching us. Elena jumped down from the stool and started backing away with a grin. "Have fun with your man friend."

"You are something else." I muttered under my breath as I walked down the length of the counter to take a customer's drink order. And as I was filling up two mugs with beer from the tap, I found myself looking across the room to where Elena had joined the two vampires and smiled when I saw her sitting close to Stefan. Those two were just so adorable together and their relationship made so much sense and made it possible for a human and vampire to be together and make it work. But it wasn't just them that made me smile, it was Damon. His electric blue eyes caught my green ones and of course I got that quickened heartbeat that happened whenever I was around him. Even from across the room, I could still feel the spark between us and I had to bite down on my bottom lip to keep another goofy grin from taking over my face. But I think Damon knew because he smirked and I realized he could sense my heart rate go up, a plus for being a vampire. I was going to send a smile back at him, but my eyes and attention were captured by the other man in my life sitting on the other end of the room from the brothers and Elena.

Sam had just looked up as soon as my eyes met his and he grinned sheepishly, and I could tell by the color in his face that he had been thinking about me. Whether it was good and friendly or good and naughty was something that would remain a mystery to me. I had no desire to read Sam's thoughts anymore now then I did in the past. There really was no need to because he told me anything and everything that was on his mind whether it made things uncomfortable or not. And I loved that about him. I loved that he had enough faith in our friendship to not feel the need to hide anything from me. And I was glad even more to see that,that trait hadn't disappeared in the time we had been apart. It meant a lot to me to have a friendship like that in my life. It was one of the most cherished relationships I had and I hoped it never ever changed.

I was so busy looking at Sam and smiling that I never noticed the look on Damon's face turn from a smirk into a dark frown.

* * *

_At the table_

"So what were you and Allison talking about when we walked in?" Stefan asked curiously when she had shed her jacket and hung it on the back of the chair before looking at him with a smile. She was going to answer but just as she opened her mouth, Damon decided to cut in and speak first.

"More importantly, who was the guy she was staring at?" The dark haired vampire demanded, turning his eyes back on Sam who was no longer looking at Allison and sent the stranger a series of glares that would have scared anyone who was looking directly at him.

"What's the matter? You sound jealous." Stefan pointed out, glancing at Elena and she knew that he was thinking the same thing that she was. "Are you jealous that she was looking at someone else and not you?"

"You certainly are sounding like someone who is jealous." Elena couldn't help but poke at the situation, it was just too juicy not to say something about.

"Fuck off, I don't get jealous." Damon denied, but the way he bent the handle of all the silverware by his hand suggested other wise. "I just want to know."

"That's her friend Sam, from back home. He came in to surprise her earlier today." Elena explained, reaching under the table for Stefan's hand and tried to hide the smile that was threatening to explode out on her face. It was so obvious that no matter how much Damon denied it, there was jealousy in his eyes the moment Allison's attention was drawn away to someone else. In some ways, it was probably the cutest reaction she had ever seen from him. And he certainly didn't have many of those. Elena forced herself to keep a collected expression as she went on to say. "And since he is visiting, she was just telling me that she needed to cancel plans with us tonight. She wants to spend time with him since they haven't seen each other in a few months."

"I guess he is not such a good friend if he waited this long to come and see her." Damon growled, shooting another dark look at Allison's friend. "I hate that guy."

"You don't even know that guy." Stefan protested, seemingly unable to stop a laugh that came out of his mouth and Damon proceeded to turn his glare from Sam to Stefan. Stefan recovered quickly before Damon lashed out and made a scene and said. "Sorry, but you are getting worked up over some person from her past and yet you claim not to be jealous. I'm sorry Damon, but that says to me that you care..."

"I don't care." His brother immediately spat out, furrowing his dark eyebrows as he sat back in the chair with a blank expression. "I'm just annoyed that some asshole is trying to move in on my entertainment."

"That's all she is to you?" Elena asked, not believing it for a second. "Just entertainment?"

"What else would I mean?" Damon snapped, his patience obviously wearing a lot thinner tonight with the arrival of Sam and he crossed his leather jacket covered arms and shot even more evil looks at the new man in the bar before saying. "I guess she didn't mention that he is a shifter."

"A shifter? Really?" Elena glanced at Stefan who had turned his head to look passed her at Sam and she did the same. She couldn't tell by just looking at him what he was, but Damon and Stefan could and another glance at Stefan confirmed it. "Wow, I never would have guessed she knew a shifter. That's kind of cool."

"No it's not." Damon hissed, his eyes narrowing so much that they became slits. "It's not cool at all."

"Yea, ok Damon." Elena shook her head, leaning back against Stefan's arm and said. "But she said they were best friends so I highly doubt there is anything romantic about their relationship. Even if he is hot."

"What?" Stefan exclaimed, his handsome jaw falling open at her statement and she couldn't but laugh at the fact that he was now the brother looking jealous. "You think the shifter is hot?"

"How do you like those turning tables now little brother?" Damon smirked, but his eyes never Sam's table and they only got darker when Allison came out from behind the bar and didn't even look over at them before sitting down in the chair next to Sam and began talking to him. Damon's hands clenched down on another set of silverware, only this time it was a complete mangled mess by the time he set it down. "Yea, I really hate that guy."

* * *

_Over at Sam's table_

"So...I think I am in trouble." Sam told me when I sat down next to him and he twisted his bottle of beer around in his hand as he spoke, looking like a mix between amusement and annoyance. I watched him for a moment, laughing at the expression on his face because it was very rare that Sam ever got frazzled and right now he was.

"What makes you think that?" I questioned, untying my apron and tossing it on the table next to my bag and jacket and looked at him. "You just got here this afternoon. I highly doubt that you could run into trouble that quickly."

"Then why have those two vampires and that girl been staring at me for the past 15 minutes?" He stated, nodding off to the other side of the room and I turned my head to see where he was looking and saw that there were indeed three faces staring at us, or more accurately at Sam. I should have known Stefan and Damon and Elena would be curious about my guest, but I wasn't about to go over and introduce them, mostly because Sam didn't like most vampires and by the looks of it, Damon was ready to rip off someone's head. So it was probably in Sam's best interest if I just kept him away. "Do you know them?"

"Yea, they're my friends, I met them almost as soon as I moved here." I told him, waving my hands at the group before Stefan and Elena had enough sense to break the stare and look away, but Damon of course didn't do what the others did. I sighed and just shrugged. "The girl's name is Elena, she's been my closest friend since I got here and she is awesome. And the vampire next to her is her boyfriend Stefan Salvatore and he is really nice and sweet..."

"And the dark haired one?" Sam asked, his eyes getting slightly smaller as he sent a look at Damon which could only be described as a back off or bring it look. "The one who is looking ready to kill me because I am talking to you?"

"That would be Stefan's older brother Damon." I said, looking at Damon's face more closely and found that Sam was right and he was looking like he wanted to fly across the room and attack Sam. "He's uh...well...he is complicated."

"And you're friends with them?" Sam asked, the disbelief written all over his face. "Do you have to befriend all the freaks of nature wherever you go?"

"Hey, I befriended you didn't I?" I smirked when Sam's face had a look of defeat pass over it and I reached out and pushed his shoulder in an attempt to get him to loosen up and look less tense. "You need to relax. Stefan and Damon are good vampires and they would never hurt me."

"Stefan is not the vampire that worries me." Sam pointed out, sitting back in his seat with his hands tucked under his arms and continued to send an unbroken stare at Damon. "It's the one in the leather jacket that looks like trouble."

"His name is Damon." I reminded him, my voice sounding a tad defensive and it made Sam's head snap towards me with a frown.

"You're not involved with him are you? Cause that would be really stupid on your part." Sam told me bluntly and I knew at that moment that I should avoid telling him exactly how involved I was with Damon. I didn't need Sam to be getting pissed over nothing and he would get pissed if he found out that Damon and I were sort of seeing each other, if you could call it that.

"No need to raise the alarm, it's nothing." I denied, able to pull of a lie when I needed to and plastered a fake smile on my lips. There were just some things that Sam did not need to know and Damon was one of them. "Come on, let's get out of here and go back to the apartment."

"I'll drive." He stated, reaching for my car keys when I pulled them out of my purse but I kept them out of his reach and shook my head.

"I don't think so. I watched you tonight, you had three beers with your dinner and there is no way I am letting you get behind the wheel of a car." I told him, standing up to pull my jacket on and grabbing my purse before noticing he was back to glaring at Damon, who was doing the same on his side of the room. I rolled my eyes and pushed at his back to get him moving. "Stop that before you provoke him."

"It doesn't look like it would take much." Sam grumbled and walked in front of me towards the exit while I turned to wave at my friends before I left with him. Stefan waved back like I knew he would, cause that was just the politeness in him. Elena wiggled her fingers at me while raising her eyebrows suggestively like she was telling me that I was a lucky girl to be going home with a man like Sam. But it was Damon's look that I didn't like. He wouldn't wave or smile or do anything to acknowledge that I was leaving and just sat there with this weird, almost jealous look on his face. But that was ridiculous because there was no way that Damon was jealous of Sam. There was just no way.

* * *

_Back at the apartment_

"I still can't believe you left Lafayette and Terry in charge of the bar." Allison said to him almost an hour later as she walked back into the living and handed him another beer before sitting down on the couch next to him with a look of disbelief on her face. "You know all sorts of things are going to go wrong with that decision."

"Well I still can't believe that you have befriended more vampires." Sam pointed out, almost frowning when he thought of the darker haired Salvatore brother. "That Damon looks like nothing but trouble."

"Oh he is, he definitely is. But he has his moments." She told him, drawing her knees up to her chest as she spoke, allowing her long hair to fall over one shoulder and he was glad to see the fang mark that had been there had healed and there was no reminder of it anywhere. "But like I said, I can handle myself and even Damon can't overwhelm me. My powers are stronger then they have ever been."

"That's good, at least then you can always protect yourself when you need to." Sam nodded in agreement, glad that she had the ability to ward off any kind of supernatural force that tried to pull a fast one on her. He didn't know what he would do if he had to hear she had been attacked while she was away from home and hadn't been able to defend herself properly. But that thought evoked a procession of thoughts in his head that made him look at her and ask "Why are you still here?"

"What do you mean?" She wondered, her green eyes watching him curiously as she twirled her hair in her fingers.

"I mean what is holding you here to Mystic Falls? I know from talking to Sookie that you are doing better and now seeing you in person I can definitely see it and I'm glad that you are happy but I think we all thought you would be home by now." He told her, watching her reaction. "Or at least thinking about it."

"I'm always thinking about coming home Sam, it's on my mind every day at some point and I still stand by what I said to you and Sookie that morning when I left. I will be coming home. I just need more time." She answered with a small smile. "Time is essential."

"Yea but it's been over 2 months. How much more time do you need?" Sam demanded, hating that he sounded do desperate but he was. In the back of his mind, he had come here with the intention of bringing her home and it would remain to be seen if he could make that happen. "I don't mean to sound pushy, but we just miss you back home."

"Trust me, I miss everyone too." She said back happily but her eyes told a different story and they appeared conflicted. "But I'm not ready to come home. Not yet."

"There's something you're not telling me isn't there?" Sam eyed her suspiciously, not missing the look of deep thinking in her eyes even though her face showed she was present. "I won't push you on it, but I know something is going on about why you haven't returned yet. Just like I know there is more going on with that Damon character then you are telling me."

"You are paranoid, you know that?" She asked with a giggle, dropping her legs down to the floor and reaching for the glass of red wine she had poured for herself and took a sip. "I don't know how you come up with these crazy ideas."

"They may be crazy but it doesn't mean they don't have some basis in reality." He reminded her, knowing that he was right on all accounts, but he wasn't going to sour their reunion by forcing her to tell him. "I know you will tell me in your own time and I respect that. But just know that I'm still here for you to talk to. That hasn't changed one bit."

"I know and I appreciate that." She smiled again, stretching out her arm on the back of the couch so her hand met his and he turned his palm up to face hers and she slide her hand on top, curling her fingers around his wrist. "I missed you so much Sam. You have no idea."

"I think I do." He stated, tightly gripping her hand and smiled at the warmth he felt from her. The time away hadn't changed how he felt about her. If anything it made his feelings for her grow stronger, he loved her just as much as he did before she left. And not being around her for these past few months had been torture. But he wouldn't get into such heavy things tonight. Tonight was just for reuniting with his best friend. So he looked at her and grinned. "I missed you like crazy Allison Stackhouse."

**A/N: so Mr sam merlotte is the first one to get up and come see allison...never saw that one coming did you? i was actually goign to leave it at as a cliffhanger for the last chapter but i decided against. So i hope you enjoy it and stick with me through to the end. Countdown to the finale: 9 chapters to go!**


	25. Where the wind blows

**Chapter 25 Where the wind blows**

"You know, you're the guest. You're not supposed to be making me breakfast the first morning that you're here." I told Sam the next morning as I sat on top of the counter and watched him as he stood by the stove and cooked a batch of the most delicious smelling eggs I have ever smelt. "I'm supposed to be the one cooking you a meal."

"And I would let you do that if you didn't suck at cooking." He pointed out to me over his shoulder with a wicked smile. "And I really want to eat so unless you want me to go hungry then I suggest you just let me do this."

"Oh you are so mean. I can't believe I actually let you stay here." I grumbled, pretending to be pissed but I was actually elated that he and I were still able to banter back and forth like this the way we used to. I thought that with the time away, it would cause us to be out of sync but we were picking up where we had left off and I was happy about that. "Speaking of which, I never asked you how long you are staying for."

"Well, when I decided to come out here, I didn't know if you would be ready to see anyone from back home so I didn't pack all that much to stay that long." He explained, stepping away from the stove with the spatula in his hand and the towel over his shoulder. "But I did plan on staying for at least a few days since you aren't annoyed by my presence yet."

"A few days? Really?" I began clapping my hands like a child, absolutely thrilled that I would get to have my best friend around for more then just a day. This was beyond awesome. I jumped off the counter and went over to hug him tightly. "This is great. We are going to have so much fun..."

"Oh yea?" He asked, raising his eyebrow suggestively and I hit him in the shoulder as soon as the words left his mouth and he just took it in stride and started laughing. "What did I say?"

"Don't even go there Sam." I warned with a smile on my face, amazed that just a little time around him could lift my spirits up so high. I let his comment go and went to the counter to grab my cup of coffee that I had poured earlier and took a sip. As my hands gripped the mug, I looked up at my friend and said. "Since you are staying in town for a few days, you might as well stay with me instead of checking into a hotel."

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" Sam questioned, his lips pressed together thoughtfully and I could tell without reading his mind that he didn't want to put me out and that was so typical Sam behavior that I smiled again.

"Of course I wouldn't mind. I have the spare bedroom, so its more then ok." I assured him, taking another sip of coffee. "I would rather you stay here then in some hotel room. At least if you're here then we can spend the most time together when I'm not at work."

"That's true." He agreed with a nod and went back to finish flipping the eggs around in the frying pan. "Speaking of work, I've was going to mention something to you yesterday when I saw you but everything got so hectic and rushed that I never got the chance."

"And what would that be?" I asked, getting down from the stool and walking over to the already set table and sat down, all the while keeping my eyes on him.

"I think you're working too much." He told me, coming into the room with the two plates of scrambled eggs and set one down in front of me as he sat down on the other side of the table. "When I saw you, the first thing that went through my mind was that you look way skinny, and really pale and tired. And I just immediately started thinking that you were pushing yourself really hard these last few months so you wouldn't have to think about anything."

"I won't lie, that was my mind frame when I first got here. But I gradually took on a more normal schedule." I lied, knowing that if I were to tell him the truth about why I was pale and tired, then he would most likely get up and walk out of this apartment and I didn't want that to happen. Sam didn't need to know what was really going on here in Mystic Falls. So I just chalked it up to using his reasoning behind my appearance and let it go. "Don't worry, I'm not stretching myself too thin. I promise you that."

"Good, because you know I always worry about you." Sam replied with a protective smile as he picked up his fork and nodded to me. "Now eat your damn breakfast so I know I sent you off to work on a full stomach."

"Ok, mom."

* * *

_Later that afternoon_

"Well, she certainly looks happy." Elena said to herself as she passed through the doorway of the Mystic Grill and spotted Allison across the nearly empty room, clearing off a table with the biggest grin in the world on her face. Allison looked up and saw her and held up her hand to wait a minute while she motioned to the back room. Elena nodded and headed over to a table in the corner to wait for her friend to emerge again. And as she sat down, she thought of the events the night before and how it had such a profound effect on two very important people.

The main figure in all this was Allison. Elena hadn't been mistaken by the huge grin on the older girl's face, it was a real, true smile that Elena was certain she hadn't seen before. It was quite a departure from the way Allie had looked when she first showed up in town and it was even different from the way she smiled just recently before Sam's arrival. It seemed to come from within, from a place she hadn't tapped into in all this time. It was incredible to see that beaming out from her eyes. Elena had always known that Allison wasn't 100% happy at any given time and that was to be expected after all she had gone through in her life and even the past year. And she had been wondering if there would ever be a time when that poor girl would have it easy and good. But it seemed like the universe had taken care of that when they sent Sam to Mystic Falls. Last night when Elena had seen the two of them together, it was like Allison was a completely different person. There was a sparkle in her eye that hadn't been seen before and now with the arrival of her best friend, it looked like the very thing Allison needed to take those next real steps to healing her heart. And Elena was glad for it. If Sam was going to be the thing that helped move things along, then she was glad he was here with Allie.

But Damon didn't think the same thing.

Elena smirked at the memory of the way the dark haired Salvatore brother had behaved when he laid eyes on the shifter last night. It was just a contradiction the way Damon claimed that he didn't care about Allison. That she was just his entertainment and that he had no feelings for her. That was such total bullshit in Elena's eyes and anyone could see it. If Damon was jealous, then he wouldn't have sent death glares at Sam the moment they had walked in. If Damon wasn't jealous , then he wouldn't have been threatening to rip off the man's head every time he spoke to Allison. And he certainly wouldn't have continued to complain about it if he didn't truly care in his own twisted way. Who was Damon kidding? He was totally starting to fall in love with Allison and he was just too stubborn to admit it.

"Ok, what has you looking so amused?" Allison's voice spoke up and Elena focused her eyes on the girl sliding into the chair across from her as Allie set her elbows on the table top and leaned forward with a raised eyebrow. "Of course I could have just read your mind, but I was pretty sure you would end up telling me anyway. So spill."

"Just going over last night." Elena responded with a grin of her own, sitting back and twirling her hair with a giggle. "You had to have seen how we all reacted to your friend, especially Damon. Oh man was he jealous.."

"You're kidding, right?" Allison questioned, her green eyes filling up with disbelief at this statement. "Damon? Jealous? I don't think so. It's not possible."

"Oh yes it is and we all saw it." Elena countered, sitting back and moving her chair closer to the table. "The minute he saw you looking at Sam instead of him he demanded to know what was up. And when I told him all that you told me, he was livid. Come on, don't tell me you didn't see the two of them glaring at each other for that entire hour."

"I did see it but it wasn't from jealousy." Allie protested, shaking her dark hair back behind her shoulders. "Sam was doing it because he doesn't like all that many vampires, especially ones like Damon and he was just being protective. And Damon was doing it, probably just because he felt threatened, not jealous."

"It's amazing how much you refuse to believe that Damon's behavior was a direct result because of his feelings for you." Elena rolled her eyes, still completely shocked that the both of them were unwilling to admit there was something serious brewing between them. "You're just being stubborn."

"And you're crazy." Allison shot back with a laugh, rubbing her hands across her face. "Even if Damon was jealous, there would be nothing to worry about. Sam and I are just friends, best friends."

"Is he really a shifter?" Elena blurted out, watching Allie's face light up in surprise. "Damon mentioned it last night and I just wanted to see what you would say."

"Yea he's a shifter, he told me about it a few years ago and besides my cousin, we are some of the only people who know the truth about him." Allison explained with a smug smile. "It's never affected our friendship before. In fact the only thing that has affected our relationship is not that he is a shifter, but how he feels about vampires."

"Oh that's right, you did say he hated vampires." Elena commented, remembering what Allie had said. "And I guess that bothers you?"

"In certain aspects yes." Allison said, crossing her arms with a sigh. "Not just the fact that my cousin is going to marry a vampire but Sam tends to judge vampires before he even gets to know them and that annoys me. You can't judge an entire group of people based on the actions of a few of them. It's just not fair."

"I agree." Elena nodded, understanding where certain people came from when they thought that but it didn't make her like it any more then she did. In fact, it really did annoy her, at least until something else filled her mind and she looked at Allie suddenly and asked. "Speaking of vampires, does Sam know about Godric?"

"No." The brunette answered back almost immediately, her lips pressed tightly together. "He doesn't know anything. And he's not going to know. It would truly disgust him if he found out I was giving my blood away on a regular basis to resurrect a vampire. He hates any involvement I have with vampires and if he knew I was trying to bring one back to life, then our friendship is as good as over. So if you ever run into him, just keep that little bit of information to yourself."

"No worries, its all safe with me." Elena assured her, leaning forward with her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands. "Now back to what we were discussing before you changed the subject."

"And that was what?" Allie tried to look innocent but there was a hint of a smirk behind her blank expression, despite her best intentions of hiding it.

"Oh just a little thing called Damon's jealousy."

* * *

_A few hours later_

"I can kind of see why Allison seems to like it here and why she hasn't left yet." Sam mumbled to himself as he moved around on the bench in the town square, where he had been sitting for the past 30 minutes and looked around at his surroundings with a curious eye.

He hadn't understood it at first, why she would not only want to move out of Bon Temps where she had lived her whole life to come out a town a million states away where she knew absolutely no one. It had baffled him, even though he knew she desperately needed to it in order for herself to heal properly from the heartache that tool-bag Eric Northman had bestowed upon her. But he figured she would go just out of state, not all the way to Virginia to get over this. And he would never admit it out loud because it was so incredibly selfish of him, but there had been times in the beginning where he hated that she hadn't just stayed put. He would never ever confess this to her because he knew how bad it was for him to think that. He was her best friend, he should have only been thinking that she do whatever it took to make her feel better again. And eventually he did feel that way. But it didn't erase the way he had first thought when he wished she had stayed at home instead of going away.

"Excuse me, Sam Merlotte?" A young female voice asked, breaking his train of thought as he looked up from the newspaper he had been reading and focused his eyes on the girl standing before him that he was sure he hadn't seen since he got there the day before. "Hi."

"Do I know you?" He questioned, frowning at the thought that someone in this strange town seemed to know who he was when he hadn't interacted with anyone besides Allison.

"I'm Elena Gilbert. I'm Allison's friend." The young brunette said as she held out her hand to him and the light-bulb went off in his head as he did realize she looked familiar. That made him feel like a real dumb ass.

"Oh yea, I do remember you." He shook her hand confidently, fighting the urge to hit himself for not remembering her. His attention had been solely on Allison that he wasn't too observant when it came to the people around him. "Allie pointed you out to me last night, but I guess I wasn't paying all that much attention."

"That's ok, no offense taken." Elena replied with a good natural grin on her face as she sat down on the other end of the bench from him. "So you and and Allie are best friends huh? That's good to finally have a face to go with the name."

"She's mentioned me?" Sam found himself unable to stop the idiotic grin that now took over his entire face.

"Oh yea." Elena nodded with her own smile. "I mean, she doesn't like to bring up her home life or anything from her past all that often, but when she does, she will occasionally talk about you and it always puts a smile on her face. Obviously that is a good thing since usually anything from her past tends to make her sad."

"She told you about all that?" Sam's happy disposition went straight down the tubes in the quickest of seconds at the mere remembrance of what had happened. It still haunted him to this day. "About the Fellowship and the abduction and the witch attacks and the adoption and..."

"And douche-bag Eric Northman? Yea, she explained it all." Elena confirmed for him and he was happy to see she seemed to hold the same opinion of the viking that he did. "Like I said, she doesn't talk about it all that much, but she has mentioned it and every time it makes her sad. And I guess that's to be expected after what she went through."

"Yea, I suppose it is." Sam grumbled and sighed, not at all happy to hear about that. But he forced that negativity away and tried to focus on some more happy. "How has she been doing lately?"

"It was tough in the beginning for her because she just looked sad all the time. And it seemed like she could never truly smile without it disappearing two minutes later." Elena explained, frowning for a few seconds before she broke into a genuine smile. "But now, it seems like she has settled in to a routine and she honestly is doing so much better. She actually seems happy and I'm glad. I feel like I have a real friend in her."

"Everyone feels like that when they are around her." Sam said thoughtfully, thankful that Allison had made a friend in this place. Elena seemed nice enough and she looked like she genuinely cared how Allison was doing and Sam couldn't ask for anything better. And she was human, so that was a huge plus. And that in turn brought up a question that needed answering. "But since we're talking about friends, what is the deal with that Damon guy?"

"I don't know what you mean." Elena shrugged, but his sense's were strong enough to notice that a tiny bead of sweat broke across her forehead even though it was cold out. "They're friends and granted he's not exactly a soft and fuzzy kind of vampire, but he's still been nice."

"There's no such thing as a nice vampire. Not truly." Sam grumbled, thinking about what had gone through his head when he laid eyes on Damon last night. He knew Allison wasn't being truthful about just how involved she was with that dead guy. He wasn't stupid. He knew something was going on with them. He just didn't know how deep it was...

* * *

_That night_

"Bye Tony, see you tomorrow." I called out to my boss as I finished pulling on my jacket in the break room and reached for my bag on top of a pile of stacked boxes and flung it over my shoulder. I waved to him on my way towards the back door. "Bright and early."

"Not so early, you deserve a little break." He reminded me as he had earlier that day in the same tone he probably used on his own daughters as he waved me off. "Go home and relax little girl."

"I'm not a little girl Tony, I'm a grown ass woman." I yelled back, pushing my way passed the heavy back door and stepped out into the quiet, darkness of the employee parking lot with a smile on my face. The night was cold and I had to button up my thigh length black coat or else I would freeze to death as I searched out my car. I hurried across the pavement under the dim lights hanging over head and was reaching into my bag to grab my keys when something told me to look up. So I did. And in the distance, leaning against my car, there was a figure waiting for me. And it wasn't Sam.

"I was wondering when you were going to come out." Damon said quietly, crossing his arms inside his leather jacket and he focused his electric blue eyes on my face as I walked towards him with my hands buried deep inside my jacket pockets. "I was getting bored."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have been waiting for me then." I shrugged, stopping when I was 2 feet in front of him and just stood there under the scrutiny of his gaze, but I wasn't bothered by it. "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight."

"Figures." He shot back, his eyes narrowing when he answered me. "And why would you? You probably would have just canceled like you did last night."

"Oh my god. Are you jealous?" I asked, my mouth opening up into a grin as I looked at him. It was then that he refused to meet my eyes, instead choosing to look at the pavement by his feet and I had to grab him by the chin and force his head up just to look into his face. And he still wouldn't look at me. "Oh shit you are jealous. That's so cute."

"I'm not jealous." He protested, his arms crossing even tighter around himself at my statement, only furthering to prove my comment was true, just like Elena had said. But Damon was intent on pretending he wasn't at all bothered by last night when it was now obvious to me that he was. "I just don't like plans being changed."

"You are just too funny sometimes." I shook my head at his denial, stepping to the side and reaching for the door handle. I had just tossed my bag into the passenger seat and was going to climb in behind the wheel when I found myself being yanked back a few feet only to see Damon slamming the door shut again and whipping around to face me with a frown on his face. I clasped my hands on to my hips in confusion at his actions. "What the hell..."

"I don't like the shifter." He blurted out, his lips curling in a snarl as he mentioned Sam and if I didn't believe he was jealous before, then I certainly believed it now. "In fact I hate him."

"You don't even know him." I snapped, feeling the ride in me to defend my friendship with Sam. Where did Damon get off passing judgment on someone he didn't even know? He had no right to think that way and he had no right at all to say he hated Sam when Sam had done nothing to deserve it. That's it, I was through with dealing with Damon's bullshit and I was going to let him know it. "What the hell is your prob..."

Damon cut me off before I even had a chance to get the whole sentence out of my mouth. He didn't rush at me or jump or lash out. Instead, he walked right up to me and took my face between both his hands and planted his lips against mine. My first thought was to pull away and hit him. But as I was raising my hands to do just that, he deepened the kiss, his tongue running across the surface my my lips and I found any desire and attempt to push him away start to dissolve the moment he pulled me closer to him. I should have pulled back so I could properly defend my best friend,but all thoughts of Sam went right out the window as I wrapped my arms around Damon's neck and kissed him back. I felt that excited cloud of butterflies come back to fill my stomach as our bodies pressed together. Kissing an angry and jealous Damon was somewhat better then kissing a nice, calm Damon. There was something heightened and exciting about knowing we were kissing against the side of my car because we were both mad about something. If anything, the best way to describe this kiss was pure erotic. I felt everything about his body as we stood there under the parking-lot lights. The way his cold hard chest felt strong and broad against my tiny frame. The way his lips seemed to set off a fire trail where ever they kissed me, or how his hips fit perfectly against mine. There was nothing to hide when we were that close and I knew he could feel my blood boiling as my arousal rose. And I just wanted to stand there all night and kiss him and I would have done that for even just a little while longer if it wasn't for what happened next.

I was in my own little world with Damon that I never even heard the sound of footsteps walking across the pavement towards us. I never caught sight of the figure pausing 10 feet away from us and I never even heard his thoughts. But I did hear him speak and it ripped right through my when I heard the hurt in his voice.

"What the fuck is this?" Sam shouted at me, forcing me and Damon apart only for me to turn around and see him standing there looking more livid then he ever had been before.

**A/N: oh boy...Sam just saw Allie and Damon kissing and now he is pissed. Oh i cannot wait for you all to see how he reacts in the next chapter...oh man it is a whirlwind. Countdown to the finale :8 chapters left!**


	26. The tide that took you away

**Chapter 26 The tide that took you away**

"Sam, please." I began slowly, trying to step back from Damon immediately but he didn't seem so keen on letting me go and kept his hands on my waist, pulling me back over to him which only went to shove Sam further over the edge. I had never seen him this angry before, where his hands were clenched so tightly that it looked like any minute now he would throw his arm out and punch the car he was standing by. And the look in his eyes was so deadly, so ferocious that I was almost too scared to step away from the vampire whose arms I was still in and any people would say a vamp was the thing to be scared of more. But those people weren't looking at Sam the way I was right now. They weren't seeing the fire in his normally calm eyes and they certainly didn't see the muscles in his body tense up and bunch like he was ready to pounce on Damon and rip his head off.

"Get away from her you dead piece of shit." Sam growled, his voice getting deeper as did the fury in his eyes. He stepped forward, looking like he was going to push me out of the way before he attacked Damon, but I couldn't let it get to that point. I couldn't let them start fighting over me. I wiggled myself out of Damon's grip and edge closer to Sam, watching as he stared at me like he wasn't even seeing me. "How could you do this? How could you be so stupid?"

"Back off shifter." Damon warned and I turned back just in time to see he had appeared right behind me and was now sending Sam a look that said he would like nothing more the beat the shit out of him. "You don't talk to her like that."

"Don't tell me how to talk to her. I know her and you don't." Sam hissed, his face turning into a mask that I didn't recognize. "She's my friend, not yours."

"And she doesn't belong to you." Damon shot back, his body starting to move into a fighting stance even though I was directly in between the two of them. "Don't talk like she is your property. You don't own her."

"I knew her first and I get to talk to her however I want." Sam shouted, throwing me a possessive look that I took offense at before he turned his attention back to Damon. "She doesn't need you, so go fuck off."

"Stop it." I snapped, raising my voice so I could be heard over their bickering and waved my hands to get them to shut up. "Stop talking like I'm not here. And stop speaking about me like I am something that belongs to you. I don't belong to either one of you. I belong to no one but myself."

"And Eric Northman." Sam muttered under his breath, but I still caught wind of it and so did Damon. I barely had enough time to feel the sting of Sam's words before Damon lost it and lashed out.

"You're a dead man." Damon sneered and then he was gone in a flash. I didn't have a second to say anything before I saw Sam whip around around and tackle Damon down to the pavement, surprising Damon with his quickness and that gave him the advantage to get on top and start slamming the vampire's head backwards into the pavement.

"Sam, stop it." I exclaimed, not thinking when I rushed over and grabbed him by the shoulders to pull him off. It was stupid because Damon was a vampire and more then capable of pushing Sam off himself, but it was my first instinct when I saw two people that I knew fighting to try and break it up. But I had barely placed my hands on him before he did something I wasn't expecting.

"Don't get involved, this isn't your fight." He snapped, using his free hand and he shoved me away so I stumbled and fell to the ground, only for them to resume fighting again.

On my way down to the pavement, I threw my elbow out to break my fall and I landed on my side, knocking the wind out of me but luckily I wasn't hurt. Once I was able to regain my senses, my eyes shot back to the fight going on a few feet away and I saw that both Damon and Sam were now on their feet, circling each other like sharks in the water. I felt something akin to a boulder drop down into my stomach just then because as soon as the two of them clashed then Sam was going to get hurt. Sam may not be entirely human himself, but he was no match for a vampire. And that was obvious when Damon grabbed a hold of him and threw him backwards against the chain link fence on the outside of the parking lot. Sam was already crumbling before he even hit the ground and I knew if I didn't put a stop to this then he would get really hurt even though he had brought this on himself. I watched both Sam and Damon get to their feet again, intending to charge and I had to make my move now or else I would miss it and Damon would bust Sam's head in with the next punch. I threw both hands out in front of me and just like I expected the white light shot out of my fingers a lot faster and stronger then last time, probably due to my heightened emotional state. I watched it reach both Sam and Damon when they were standing there facing each other and they never saw it coming as it hit them in the side and blasted both off their feet and into the fence within seconds. Even Damon was momentarily stunned by my display of power and it took him a minute before he was able to shake it off and focus his eyes on me.

"Both of you need to stop it right now." I hissed, dropping my arms to my sides and I ran up to where they were and stood over them feeling so torn between these guys that I wanted to cry. Or scream. Or maybe both. "You're going to kill each other."

"I'll kill him first." Damon screamed, glaring at Sam and looking like he was going to pounce on him again. "He fights like a little bitch."

"Who are you calling a bitch? Bitch!" Sam scrambled to his feet and ran at Damon once more. But I ran at him, grabbing him by the arms and using whatever strength I had to hold him in place. "Get out of the way."

"No. This is going to end right now. Or else you're going to get hurt and I won't allow that." I told him, keeping a death grip on his arms so that if he even tried to throw me off, I would still be attached to him. "You're my best friend. I don't want you to get hur..."

"Best friend? I'm your best friend?" Sam scoffed, rolling his eyes mockingly as he glared down at me. "That's the biggest pile of crap I have ever heard in my life. You are such a hypocrite."

"Sam please just..." I tried to reach out for him but he knocked my hands away and stepped back.

"I mean, you call me your best friend and yet you lie to me about your involvement with that bloodsucker even after I tell you I know something was up. I didn't want to believe it at first, in fact I wasn't even entirely convinced it had gotten to this point. I thought you were just attracted to him and that's all there would be. But then I come by and see you making out with him and I want to tear my hair out. I can't believe you are involved with another vampire." Sam snapped, his hands on his waist so tight that his knuckles were turning white. He narrowed his eyes into little slits when he looked at me and his mouth twisted cruelly as he said. "I guess you haven't learned your lesson after all."

My mouth fell open in shock that he had the nerve to say that to me. But in fact it wasn't so much shock that was going through me at the moment as it was pain and sadness. The moment he spoke to me like that was the moment I started tearing up again and it didn't take much for them to start falling. Sam ignored me completely and sent one last glare at Damon before he turned and walked away. I watched him with blurry eyes as he stomped across the parking-lot towards the exit and left around the corner without looking at either one of us again. The silence that followed his departure was deafening and at first I didn't have any reaction except to just stand there and not speak.

"That went...well." Damon said sarcastically, crossing his arms tight over his chest as he stood beside me and looked at the spot where Sam had left and then turned his gaze on me. "Are you ok?"

"No. I'm not ok. Not at all." I answered back shakily, wiping my eyes with my fingers and shook my head before stepping away from him when he tried to touch me. "I'm sorry but I have to go and talk to him about this. I can't let him walk away when he's this mad. I have to go fix things."

"It's ok. Go." Damon nodded even thought he still looked like he wanted to run after Sam and fight some more. He leaned down and picked up my keys that I had dropped when Sam pushed me away and handed them to me. "Just be careful. He's an angry dog and they get vicious."

"Sam will listen to reason. He has to." I said, grabbing the keys and running to my car and jumping in. I had to get back to the apartment before Sam did, because knowing him, he had already run the entire way back and was there already. And who knows what he would do unless I talked to him.

* * *

_Back at the apartment_

"I can't believe her. I just can't fucking believe her." Sam snapped as he stomped down the hallway of Allison's apartment building looking for her door. He was so blinded by his fury that he bypassed it 3 times and had to retrace his steps until he had collected himself enough to put the keys in the knob and push the door open to let himself in. He let it fall shut behind him with a loud bang and just stood there in the silence and in the dark, listening to his own heavy breathing. He had never felt this angry or more at the mercy of his emotions then he was now. Seeing her in the arms of that vampire and seeing her kissing him had just completely shoved him off the edge and he had reacted violently. And as much as he hated to admit, if Allison hadn't stopped the fight, then Damon would have over powered him. But even her keeping him from getting injured didn't help the anger that he held towards her and he was glad he left when he did. He needed to get back here and make a plan before she showed up and tried to talk him out of it.

"I have to get the fuck out of here." He grumbled, reaching over to the wall and flipping on the light switch and he was finally able to see in front of him. His eyes caught sight of the table where he and Allison had been eating breakfast together just that morning and had been happy and laughing like nothing was wrong. He never could have foreseen how differently the day was going to end. And as he slammed the keys down on the nearby counter, he found himself repeating his earlier sentiment. "I really have to leave."

He walked into the spare bedroom he had originally planed to stay in for another few days and flipped on the light and immediately walked over to the closet to grab his suitcase and throw it on the bed. Once it was open, he began throwing clothes from the dresser into it, not even bothering to fold anything and just concerned with getting everything in. He was thankful he hadn't packed all that much or else it would take a long time to repack, but he still had enough with him that he wasn't able to get out of there in under 10 minutes. He wished he could but he knew he couldn't. But it didn't stop him from trying. He was just emptying the drawers when he heard the front door open and shut and knew it was Allison who had walked in. He could tell she was in the doorway of the room without even looking there but he refused to acknowledge her presence and just kept on throwing things in his suitcase and moving objects around so they would fit better. She didn't say anything at first and he almost wondered if it was because she was reading his mind but then she spoke and deferred that theory.

"Sam." She spoke quietly, her voice sounding so young in it's innocence and meekness but he knew better then to allow himself to fall for it. She wasn't innocent by any means. She got involved with vampires, so when that happened, all innocence went out the window. "Sam please..."

"Don't Allison. Just...don't." He forced himself to say, clenching his jaw when he heard her speak. "Don't even say anything. Because we both know that when people try and say something in situations like this, it is only to make the other person feel better and it never does. So if you could just not fucking say anything that would be just great."

"But Sam. We need to talk about this." She protested, and he looked up to lay his eyes on her and he wasn't moved to see that sad frown on her face. He just couldn't be bothered feeling bad for her. He shook his head and began gathering up the miscellaneous things he had unpacked, ignoring her again. He heard her sigh and she walked further into the room, sitting down on the edge of the bed before saying. "I really think we should discuss what happened. We can't just ignore it. We have to talk."

"No we don't." He said in disagreement, throwing a book down in his bag and looking at her again. "We don't need to talk because there is nothing to talk about. It's obvious what is going on. You are involved with that vampire just like I thought you were. And you lied and said it was nothing. So as far as I am concerned, there is nothing left to say."

"I disagree, there is plenty to say. I don't want things to get bad between us. You just got here and it shouldn't be like this..." She started to say but he wasn't willing to listen to her and just cut in.

"It is like this. And that's your fault. You made the decision not to tell me about Damon and god only knows what else you are hiding. And that's not what friendship is about. So like I said, I have nothing let to say to you." He retorted, his words sounding harsh even to him but he didn't care. He had reached the point where it just didn't matter anymore and he didn't care if it hurt her feelings. "I don't want to talk to you except to say one thing. I'm leaving and I don't want you to stop me."

"Sam, no!" She exclaimed, jumping up and grabbing his arm with both hands to stop him from going back to the closet. "You can't just leave. That's crazy."

"No, it's relief." He tugged his arm out of her grasp and walked around her to grab his hanging things from the closet. "Because right now, I can't stand to be around you. You disgust me."

"Sam please. Don't be like this." She begged and even without looking at her he knew she was a heartbeat away from crying. But that had no affect on him. She hurt him too by her actions and he wasn't about to comfort her right now.

"Just stop it Allison. I'm leaving and there is nothing you can do to make me stay."

* * *

_10 minutes later_

"I don't want you to go." I said to Sam, leaning against the door frame of the bathroom as he was packing up his toiletries and watched as he wore the same angry expression he had worn since leaving the parking-lot and since I had walked into the apartment and saw what he was doing. It was true, I didn't want him to leave. He had just gotten here and I didn't want him leaving this soon, especially because he had taken offense to seeing me kiss Damon. It was stupid and ridiculous and I did not understand it at all. I followed back to the bedroom, determined to make him listen to me. "Sam will you listen to me?"

"That's all I've been doing for the past 20 minutes." He sneered, throwing more things into his nearly packed suitcase and still trying to avoid looking at me.

"Don't talk to me like that." I frowned, never remembering hearing Sam use that kind of tone with me ever before. It hurt, a lot. Especially since he was my best friend. "I get that you are upset, but once we talk this out then it will all be ok. I really want us to fix this because I want you to stay. I missed you Sam."

"Yea. Right." He said sarcastically and I could see him rolling his eyes. I tried to get his attention but each time he walked by me he spoke less and less until he barely made any noise at all. By this point I was passed my boiling point and I was totally ready to start screaming but I chose a less noisy approach and the next time he walked by emptied handed, I grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face me.

"Jesus Christ Sam, just fucking talk to me." I snapped, looking up at his handsome face and pulled my hands off him when he gave me the dirtiest I have ever seen on his face. It made me feel, not like screaming as I had just seconds ago, but like crying. I hated when I fought with anyone I cared about. But when Sam looked at me the way he was looking at me now, it just killed me. And I didn't truly understand why. "Why are you being like this? Why is this such a big deal to you? Why do you even care?"

And then as soon as I was done speaking, Sam answered me back in the most expected of ways. One second he was glaring down at me like he hated my guts and the next he was grabbing me up in his arms and planting the most passionate kiss in the world on my lips. I was so shocked and I didn't know what to do except to just stand there as he deepened the kiss and tightened his grip on me almost painfully while his lips continued to attack my own. It was a kiss full of passion and heat and all the things I would have enjoyed if I had felt any of these things towards Sam, but I didn't. I couldn't even speak when he finally let me go and stood back with a blank look on his face.

"That's why I care." He told me, his hand running through his hair halfheartedly. "Because I'm still in love with you. And I thought coming here would finally turn things in my favor. But I was wrong. I was so damn wrong."

I couldn't even stop him as he walked away from me and finished packing his bags, almost too stunned to move. But my eyes followed him, watching him sit down to re-tie the laces on his boots and zip up his suitcase before standing again and grabbing the handle and moving passed me to the door. I finally was able to find energy in my legs and walk out into the living room. He was by the door, tugging on his jacket and looking through his pockets for his keys when I stood there against the back of the couch, knowing it would do not good if I threw myself at him and begged him to stay. He barely looked at me as he opened the door and grabbed his suitcase again, but when he stepped out into the hallway, he did look over his shoulder once more and met my eyes.

"I'm never going to be enough for you am I?" He asked, his face taking on this mask that was a cross between the harshest anger and the most devastating sorrow and it made a prick come over my eyes and it wasn't a second later when the tears started running down my cheeks.

"That's not it …." I wanted to deny him, knowing he was good enough. That was never the issue, but he interrupted me before I could say anything more.

"It's because I'm not a vampire., isn't it?" Sam hissed, his expression now cruel and ready to hurt me like he was hurting. " You only like to screw around with dead guys."

"That...was just so incredibly mean." I muttered, my mouth hanging open at the stinging words that had come out of his mouth. I nodded to the hallway. "I think now would be the right time for you to leave."

"Well, you would know a little something about leaving, right?" He scoffed, the eyes that always used to comfort me had narrowed again and became the eyes of a man I didn't even know any more. I watched him walking down the hallway and as soon as he was out of sight I walked over to the door and slammed it shut. I leaned against it for a minute before I slide down to the floor into a heap and started crying but not because I was angry or upset over a big fight. This wasn't just a big fight, it was a life changing fight. A fight that solidified everything. Because the moment Sam walked out that door. I knew our friendship was over and done with.

* * *

_1 hour later_

_Knock...knock...knock_

"Jesus Christ, hold on a second." Damon groaned from his spot in front of the fire where he had been reading a book when he heard the knocking at the door. He had ignored it the first time because he thought his brother was home and would answer it. But when it happened again again, he finally grew frustrated enough to slam the book shut and get up to answer it. He didn't even bother walking and just flew across the hallway and yanked the door open to see who his night time visitor was. He was pleasantly surprised to see the figure standing on his doorstep was none other then Allison, but he was not happy about the redness surrounding her eyes, indicating that she had been crying for a very long time. After he motioned her in and slammed the door shut, he grabbed her by the shoulders, knowing it had to be because of Sam that she looked so upset. "What did he do?"

"He left me." She said quietly, directing her eyes down to the floor as she spoke. "We had a fight. He was really mad about seeing us together and it was because he had come here hoping that I would finally fall in love with him. But I didn't feel anything for him. Not even when he kissed me..."

"He kissed you?" Damon's still chest flamed with something that could only be called jealousy but he refused to give voice to it. "And you felt nothing?"

"Not a thing. And I felt horrible because I know how much he loves me, but I just can't feel the same way towards him. And I think he knew that. So after we fought, he just grabbed his things and left." Allison shrugged, reaching up to rub her eyes before she titled her head back and surprised him with what she asked. "Can I stay with you tonight? Here at your house?"

"I think we both know that my answer would be yes." He replied with a smirk, helping her out of her jacket when she began to unbutton it and hung it on a hook by the door. "You don't ever need to ask if you can spend the night with me, because my answer will always be yes."

"You always think it will lead to sex. So typical. But nice to have something to count on." She gave him a small smile, tucking her hair behind her ears before moving forward and she actually wrapped her thin arms around his cold body. She leaned her cheek against his chest and said in a quiet voice. "I just didn't want to be alone."

"You'll never be alone." He assured her, surprising himself with how soft his voice had become and just raised his own arms to wrap around her. "You'll always have me."

**A/N: Aha, so Sam came to Mystic Falls hoping that it would get him Allison finally but that didn't happen the way he wanted and he got majorly pissed over Damon and her kissing. And now he is gone and their friendship is over. Will it ever be fixed? Who knows. Stick around for the third installment and maybe it will happen. But for now, at least Damon is there for comfort. Countdown to the finale: 7 chapters to go!**


	27. Standing up,Standing down

**Chapter 27 Standing up,Standing down**

_"Allie, are you alright? I haven't heard from you in a few days and I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Call me back."_

_"Hey Allison, it's Stefan. I was calling to see if you wanted to join Elena, Damon and I for dinner. Give me a call if you can make it."_

_"It's Elena again. Look, it's been almost a week and I don't understand why you aren't returning anyone's calls or at least picking up. And whenever we come into the grill, you're always too busy to talk. What's going on with you? Does it have something to do with Sam leaving so soon? Please call me when you can. I'm starting to get worried."_

_"Um, it's me Stefan. Again. I haven't heard from you and neither has Elena or even Damon and now we are really getting concerned. Damon told us about what happened with your friend and we are trying to respect your privacy by not making you talk about it, but you're avoiding all contact with anyone. And we don't understand..."_

_"Hey hot stuff, what's with the disappearing act you've been pulling for the past 7 days? Don't you know it's torture when you are not around annoying me? I'm bored and I need my entertainment back, and Elena needs her friend. So crawl back out of your hole and call one of us. Don't make me use force. Actually on second thought, make me use force. I might like that..."_

"I'm so not in the mood to deal with people today." I sighed to myself as I stood by the counter and looked down at my answering machine with an expression that didn't reflect how I was feeling on the inside. I knew from my image in the mirror on the wall that I looked tense and on edge and ready to lash out the next person but that was not what I was feeling at all. In fact it was the complete opposite of the emotions going through me at that very second. It was the same thing I had been struggling with for almost 2 weeks now.

Ever since the whole fiasco with Sam had gone down, I had found myself pulling away from everyone little by little until I had pretty much cut off all contact with my friends. It just started out by not picking up their calls and then not returning messages. That then turned into not answering the door when they came by or pretending to be too busy at work when they came in. I did this all so intensely until I had manged to shove myself into my own little world where I was the only inhabitant. It wasn't like I wanted to be alone with no friends, but I felt so unworthy of being around anyone that I tried to push Stefan and Elena and Damon away. But to their credit, they weren't giving up. They were pushing back with determination and gusto and I appreciated that even if I couldn't exactly express it. The whole Sam thing had left me wounded, hurting and back on fragile ground, a place I never wanted to be again.

Even despite the passage of two weeks, the pain over Sam's departure hadn't lessened in the slightest and continued to fester until it was almost unbearable. I felt such shame over how hurt he had been. It had never been my intention to hurt him like that, but I also knew I had never given him any indication that I liked him the way he liked me. I made sure I was careful like that when I was around him, especially considering our past encounters, I never wanted to lead him on. But he still ended up hurt and that pained me too. He was my best friend and knowing he was hurting was torture to me. I may not be in love with him, but I did love him and cared about his feelings. That should have been enough for us to get past this blow up, but it wasn't. I never imagined Sam would react so strongly to seeing Damon and I together and I certainly never thought he would say half the things he said to me. It truly bothered me to think about how he saw me now, as a girl that disgusted him because I was kissing a vampire. It was like he could see right through me like I was nothing more then just a transparent figure to him. And then to hear him say that we were no longer friends, well that just made the hole in my heart even bigger and more rough then it had been before.

"And this is exactly why I haven't talked to any of you in the past 2 weeks." I muttered down at my phone, shaking my head at the way I was talking to an inanimate object. "I didn't want to burden you with all this crap.'

It was true. The emotions I had been feeling for the last 14 days had been so up and down that I felt it wouldn't be fair to put this on any of my 3 friends. I mean, who would want to be listening to this and have to feel pangs of sadness themselves? I wouldn't, so why would I subject my friends to my pain? It wasn't their problem, it was mine and I would keep it that way. At least for now.

But how long could I really keep that up?

* * *

_Later that day_

"Look, I know I've said this before a million times, but can we talk?"

"No, we can't talk Bonnie. We've tried that before and it didn't work. So why would now be any different?" Elena asked, barely acknowledging her friend who had taken a seat across the table from her and just focused on the textbook in front of her. "Besides, I have other things to think about that are more important to think about."

And that was so true. More so then it had been at any time before now. From the moment she had woken up that morning, Elena had been filled with the same worry and frustration that had been plaguing her for the last 2 weeks and of course it came back to the subject of Allison. Elena still had no idea why the older brunette was continuing to push everyone away. They had all tried to reach out to her, knowing it was because of Sam that she was upset. Stefan had done his part in calling nightly as did she and even Damon had joined in and they all tried to make her talk to them. But nothing worked. She just ignored all their efforts and kept to herself for whatever reason and Elena was sure it wouldn't last for more then just a few days, enough for the shock to wear off. But it was two weeks later and there was still no change and Elena was beginning to seriously worry about her friend. What the hell was keeping her so isolated?

"This is exactly why I want to talk to you." Bonnie interrupted her thoughts by leaning over the table and grabbing her wrist. "I've seen how you have been walking around the last few weeks and it's been worrying me."

"I don't know why it would." Elena hissed, yanking back her arm and slamming her book shut. "It's not like you've been caring about my feelings all that much lately."

"Of course I care Elena." Bonnie exclaimed, her lips parting in shock as her forehead wrinkled. "I know the last time we talked we didn't leave on good terms, but that doesn't mean I don't still care about what is bothering you."

"You've said all this before and it always ends the same way. So excuse me for not being so receptive to it this time." Elena shot back, crossing her arms and staring out the window and watched as the rain hit the glass panes. "I don't really expect it to be resolved any other way then it has the last few times we tried to talk."

"That's where you're wrong." The witch protested, a hopeful look in her dark brown eyes. "This is so different then any other day I tried to talk to you. Today I woke up and decided that I wanted to smooth things over once and for all. We've had too many years of friendship between us to throw it away now."

"You think it's that easy? That you can just say some nice words and apologize and everything will go back to how it was before?" Elena asked, feeling her face tighten up considerably as she looked at the girl she had viewed as her sister for so long. "It doesn't work like that because you still haven't seen my side of of this whole mess and where I am coming from."

"Oh my god, I should have known you would still hold a grudge over this Godric thing." Bonnie rolled her eyes and threw her arms up in frustration. It was evident that she had been hoping it would blow over without them ever addressing the real problem. Bonnie leveled her stare at Elena, looking more annoyed then ever. "You can't forgive me because I did what I thought was right?"

"You still don't get it do you?" Elena retorted, her slim hand gripping the edges of the table tightly as she spoke. "This is not about you not helping to release Godric. I don't care that you said no, and this is not what this is about."

"Then tell what it is about so I can fix it..." Bonnie began to beg but Elena had no patience to listen to her.

"This is about you dismissing the idea without ever really considering it. You refused to think that releasing a vampire would be different this time around. You just let your previous judgment about vampires in the tomb cloud your common sense and you turned into some mean, cold-hearted person that I don't know. A person that doesn't care about how your actions would affect someone else. That's not you. That's not the Bonnie I grew up with." Elena explained, not feeling as angry as she thought she would feel when she finally said all of this to Bonnie. She had been holding it back for a while and this was the point when it all came piling out without restraint. "You didn't even care that it meant so much to Allison or that she would be sacrificing a part of herself to do a task that would have been easy for you. You just threw away the idea without even thinking that it could be a good thing. You seemed to have lost all sense of your own humanity when you refused to consider helping Godric. That makes you a stranger to me. That's why I can't forgive you."

"I'm sorry Elena. I really am." Bonnie looked down at her hands at that moment, but not before Elena saw the look of shame pass over her features. But it didn't change anything. "Please Elena. You have no idea how sorry I am."

"Sorry doesn't fix it. Not this time." Elena replied softly as she stood up and grabbed her books before rushing out of the room so no one could see the lone tear rolling down her face.

* * *

_Back at Allison's apartment_

"I fucking hate my life." I muttered to myself as I dropped down on to the couch in my living room and dumped the supplies I had grabbed out of my bag on the coffee table in front of me and began the now familiar process of drawing blood. I had left the Grill on my lunch break to come back to my apartment so I could fill up another plastic bottle of blood for when I went to go see Godric later tonight and I wished I could say that my mood had been lifted but it hadn't. It was exactly the same way it had been for the last two weeks and I was getting so frustrated with myself but I didn't know how to pull myself out of it. So I just tried to distract myself, first with work and now with giving blood.

Once I had the needle inserted and the bottle began to slowly fill up, I sat back against the cushions and lost myself in my thoughts again like I had for much of the day. It seemed like I wasn't able to escape the flashbacks or the memories that popped up since Sam left. It was probably a reaction to him saying that we weren't friends anymore I just needed to relive all the good moments we had had over the course of the last few years. It was painful to see these images only to know I would never be able to have them again, but it didn't stop me from losing myself in them.

_"Sam Merlotte, for the last time, I told you that I did not want to leave this house." I snapped at my friend, sending a glare at him as I peeked around the edges of the blanket I had pulled up to my chin. "Now go away."_

_"Sorry I can't do that. I promised Sookie I would get you out of bed and I am going to do it." He replied with a wicked smile, getting up from the chair he had thrown himself in and walked across the floor of my bed room and stood at the side of the bed I barely even had a second to open my mouth before Sam grabbed the edge of the mattress and lifted it up swiftly, causing me to roll over and be dumped on the floor in a heap of sheets and blankets. I sat up and looked over my shoulder to see him standing there with his arms crossed and an innocent look on his face like he hadn't just flipped me on my ass. "What?"_

_"Don't play dumb. " I shot back, kicking the sheets off my legs and stood up with my hands on my hips. "When you said you were getting me out of bed I didn't think that would entail you dumping me on the floor."_

_"Yea, but it got you to smile didn't it?" He pointed out in triumph and I wanted to throw a pillow at him but he was right, I was smiling. Not a big smile, but a smile nonetheless. And it was quite a departure from the way I had been looking since my breakup with Eric. And that seemed to make Sam happy. "I think that's the first time you haven't looked miserable since what happened."_

_"Trust me if I could freeze my face into one expression I would." I sighed, running my hand through my knotted hair. "So what now?"_

_"Well you kind of stink. So the next logical thing would be to push you into the shower." Sam nodded and just like with the bed, he moved fast and grabbed me before I could get away. With barely even leaning down, he tossed me over his shoulder despite me hitting him in the back with my fists and stomped his way into my bathroom. He didn't put me down when he flicked on the light or when he turned the faucet in the shower. It was only when the water was pounding on the ceramic did he set me back on my feet, in the shower, fully clothed. He started laughing at me as I got soaked and just stepped back with his hands raised. "Stop looking at me like you're going to kill me. I did this for you, trust me you will feel better after this."_

_"I hate you." I snapped, trying to sound mad, but as the water dribbled into my eyes and he continued to laugh, I found myself giggling as well. "Fine, I'm in the shower. Now leave so I can take my clothes off."_

_"I'll save my comments for another time." He smirked, backing out of the room and closing the door behind him but not before saying. "Me throwing you into the shower is proof of what a fabulous friend I am."_

_"Yea, maybe in your head." I muttered, and although my heart was aching more painfully then I could bear, I was slightly comforted by Sam's words. He really was my best friend and I was glad he hadn't given up on me. I needed him more then I could say..._

"Oh crap." I hissed, breaking free of my memory and seeing that I was giving more blood then I had meant to. The plastic bottle I had grabbed was bigger then the ones I usually used but it was the only one I had so I was just going to fill it half way. But I was so distracted by the flashback that I hadn't paid attention and now this bottle was almost full to the brim and I was feeling light headed and sick. I quickly pulled the needle out of my arm and covered the tiny prick hole with the band aid I had ready. My vision wavered a bit as I twisted the cap on the bottle of blood and sat back against the side of the couch and looked at it. As horrible as I was feeling right now, I almost didn't care. I felt almost reckless by giving too much blood at once. And why shouldn't I be reckless? I was always the good girl, the girl who did the right thing and never put a toe out of line. Well maybe I didn't want to be that girl anymore. Maybe I wanted to live a little more dangerously.

* * *

_A few hours later_

"What the hell happened to her?" Elena felt her mouth drop open as she walked into the Mystic Grill and paused at the front of the room when her eyes landed on the small figure clearing off a table on the other side of the room. She was slightly horrified at the way Allison looked right now. And it wasn't the condition she had expected to find her friend in when she had decided to drop by after school had let out. She shouldn't have been surprised. After all, since Sam had left, Allison hadn't been taken care of herself as well as she should have. But it wasn't just that she was a little bit skinnier, it was the fact that she looked weak and pale and unlike herself. And it was time it came to an end. So Elena walked through the empty floor and over to the table where she grabbed Allison by the arm and forced her down in a chair. "What the heck happened you?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." The older girl insisted, but even as she ran her hand through her long hair, Elena could see that she was fighting the urge to sink back in her chair and close her eyes.

"You're not fine." Elena pushed further, knowing that Allison would continue to pretend that nothing was going on if she didn't force the girl to talk. "You look like you are ready to pass out. What did you do to yourself?"

"I'm fine, really I am." Allison nodded, pressing her thin lips together before shrugging. "I just went back to my apartment on my lunch break to fill up another bottle of blood for Godric and I ended up giving more blood then normal."

"Then what the hell are you doing back at work? Why didn't you just call out for the rest of the day and just relax?" Elena demanded, feeling a rush pf over-protectiveness rush over her. "What the hell is going on with you these days? Why are you avoiding me and everyone else?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe because that's what I'm good at." She muttered in reply, leaning forward with her elbows on the table top and she dropped her face into her hands, but her voice still reached Elena's ears. "It was made apparent to me that I'm good at pushing things away. My family, my friends...my own common sense."

"Ok, where is this all coming from?" Elena asked, thoroughly confused but relieved that Allison was talking to her. "I don't understand and I'm really worried."

"Didn't Damon tell you what happened with Sam?" Allison asked, her voice wavering for a bit as she spoke and when Elena nodded her head in confirmation she went on. "Sam said our friendship was over. He was really pissed off when he saw me and Damon together and he said I hadn't learned my lesson about getting involved with vampires. And when I tried to talk to him back at the apartment, he basically said I disgusted him and he couldn't look at me anymore. And then he left, taking all those years of friendship with him. And I have been stuck in a funk since then."

"Oh Allie, why didn't you talk to me about this? I would have understood." Elena reached out across the table and took Allison's wrist in her hand and pulled her arm down. "I know what it's like to lose a friend and I could have been there for you."

"I didn't want to burden any of you guys with my problems. That wouldn't be fair." Allison shrugged her tiny shoulders, looking off to the side so their eyes wouldn't meet. "I don't like putting my troubles on people who aren't involved. Why make them deal with pain that isn't theirs?"

"Because we're your friends. And that's what friends do, they share in each others pain." Elena assured her, patting her hand softly, hoping her words were getting through to the girl. " I wished you had talked to me in the last two weeks. I could have helped you. But you kept pushing me away."

"I know, I'm sorry about that. I don't mean to isolate myself every time something goes wrong, but that's how I know how to deal." She explained, turning her face forward so their eyes connected. "That was my coping mechanism my whole life whenever I had to deal with something. I would just pull away from every one and avoid as much contact with the outside world as I could until the pain lessened."

"You know that's not healthy right? Avoiding the problem wont make it go away." Elena pointed out, tilting her head to the side as she studied her friend, feeling such immense pity for her. It wasn't fair that Allison continued to be dealt blow after blow without ever really being given time to breathe in between. The fact that she was still able to function was miraculous. "Hey, why don't we hang out tonight? We can just sit around and talk. Or not talk, it's up to you. But it would be good for us to spend time together."

"Thanks for the offer but I just want to be alone right now." Allison declined to stay any longer and got up and walked away towards the door by the bar and disappeared into the back. Elena didn't have any choice but to watch her go and wonder whether her friend was ever going to be ok.

* * *

_Late that night_

"Well don't you look chipper?"

"Well hello to you too Godric." I forced myself to smile when I looked up and spotted him waiting for me at the end of the tunnel I had just turned into and strolled forward slowly, reaching into my bag for the bottle of blood I had stored there. After I had returned to work earlier today, it took all I had to keep myself going after giving all this blood and I should have taken Elena's advice and just stayed home. But I was a glutton for punishment and I made myself go back and finish my shift. It was hard and tiring and my weakened state didn't go un-noticed by my boss or Elena. She of course never let up and came in like she did pretty much every day and this time she cornered me and forced me to talk. And I had to admit that it made me feel slightly better to let loose a little bit. But I didn't want to get too into the reason why I had been avoiding her and the Salvatores because then I was sure I would start crying so I had left her there at the table and hid in the back until she was gone. After that the rest of the day passed without any more surprises and I was away to slip away as soon as the 8 o'clock hour hit. I didn't bother going home since I had everything in my car and just drove straight to the tomb to see Godric and now, here I was. I stopped in my usual spot and rolled the bottle through the moonlight over to his side. "I hope you're hungry."

"Always am." He agreed, scooping up the tall plastic bottle in his pale transparent hand and immediately twisted off the cap so he could gulp down a few sips. I watched him as he drank and I saw the look of hunger in his dark eyes and the satisfaction that started to come over his face as my blood kept on sliding down his throat. When he was sufficiently distracted enough, I knelt down on the ground and began unpacking my bag just like I always did. But I had only gotten as far as setting everything up before Godric's eyes focused on me and he stopped drinking. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Um, giving you blood like I always do when I come here." I answered back even though I knew that was not what he was getting at. But I still tried to pass it off as innocence when I looked up and met his eyes. "What?"

"You know what. You already gave me a bottle of blood, a huge bottle. And now you're doing it again. Are you out of your mind? That's too much blood to give in one day." Godric protested, looking like he would love nothing more then to jump across the moonlight, and knock the needle out of my hand. But he was still just a transparent figure so he couldn't do that yet. But it didn't stop him from saying what was on his mind about the situation. "It's not healthy what you're doing. It's reckless and bordering on stupidity."

"You can't do anything about it so you might as well just drink it when I give it to you." I told him, shrugging my shoulders, not caring about the consequences of what I was doing. "Besides, it will just speed up the process of your resurrection."

"I don't care about that. I would rather it take twice as long if it meant you were doing it safely. But you're not." Godric's face twisted into a frown that was so out of place on his normally happy face. "Why are you behaving like this? This isn't like you."

I didn't answer him right away and just slide the needle into my arm without even thinking about it. I focused my eyes on the bottle and watched the dark red liquid fill up the plastic so I wouldn't' have to look at him. But it wouldn't last long because it was Godric after all and there was only so long before I could be in his presence without totally spilling my guts and tonight was no different.

"Do you remember me telling you about my friend from back home?" I asked quietly, watching him nod in understanding when I mentioned Sam. "Well two weeks ago he came to visit me as a surprise and I was really happy to see him. I was thrilled to have my friend around and he had planned on staying for a few days but it didn't work out like I thought it would. The next night, he walked into the parking lot of where I worked and saw Damon and I kissing."

"And he didn't take it well did he?" Godric pressed his lips together after he had spoken.

"Not at all. In fact he started a fight with Damon but I was able to break it up and he ended up going back to my apartment. By time I got back, he was already packed and ready to go and I tried to stop him by asking why he was making it such a big deal and he responded by kissing me. Apparently he came here hoping that I would finally return the feelings he had for me but I didn't and that hurt him. And as he was leaving he said all these hurtful things, like I was a fool for not learning my lesson about being involved with vampires from before and that he was repulsed by the sight of me." I paused for a second, not noticing that my eyes had begun to fill up with tears and I frantically wiped at them in the hopes that they would go away but they didn't. Instead they spilled down my cheeks like an angry river as I looked up at Godric again. "Sam broke off our friendship. We're not friends anymore."

"I'm so sorry." Godric said quietly, his voice filling up with sympathy and he moved until he was sitting down directly in front of me and sighed. 'Now I understand why you looked so distraught these past few..."

"What did I do?" I burst out suddenly, my tears falling faster and my reaction appeared to have startled Godric but I kept on going anyway. "What did I do to deserve this? Was I so bad in a previous life that the universe feels the need to punish me now? Is it my fault that I lost Sam?"

"No. It's is not your fault at all. Do you understand me?" Godric demanded, sounding unlike himself as he took on the tone of that of a protective father. He made a move like he wanted to reach across the moonlight and take my hand but he couldn't. So he just sat there, calming me with his words. "Please believe me Allison. You are not at fault for what happened. He's just frustrated and very angry. But it's all going to be ok."

"I wish I could believe that Godric." I whispered, using my free arm to rub away the tears lingering on my wet face. " I really wish I could believe that things will be better."

"You will...someday."

**A/n: Sorry for the long wait between updates. Had a slight computer issue but it has been resolved and i am back to finish off this fic very very soon. probably within the next week. so please review and sorry for that hiatus. countdown to the finale: 6 chapters to go !**


	28. Feeling Alive

**Chapter 28 Feeling Alive**

"..i knew she shouldn't have given that much blood..."

" Last night was so reckless...I should have refused to take the blood she was offering me..."

"..I told her it wasn't healthy, but did she listen? No, of course not. Humans are more stubborn then ever before.."

I smiled to myself before my eyes even opened as I listened to Godric talk to himself as he paced back and forth on his side of the tunnel. I didn't even have to look at him to know he was doing this, my ears told me everything and to be honest, I found it very sweet that he was worrying himself about me. How many vampires can you say behave like he does? I opened my eyes completely, finding that I was lying on the floor of the tomb with my head still propped up on my bag like it had been since last night and my coat covering my body as a blanket. I sat up, my actions not being noticed by Godric and stretched my arms above my head with a yawn. It hadn't been my intention to spend the night here in the tomb but by the time I was through giving my second bottle of blood, I was so weak and dizzy that I could barely stand and I knew I couldn't drive home right away in this condition. So I had planned on resting for a while but eventually I did fall asleep and now it was morning and instead of moonlight dividing the tunnel, it was sunshine. I turned my head to follow Godric's movements and observed the way his eyes flickered back and forth from right to left before they finally fell on me and he stopped walking.

"You're awake." Godric spoke softly, relief flooding his face as he dropped to his knees on the dirt floor and gazed at me intently. "You look much better now then you did last night."

"I definitely feel a lot more like myself now." I nodded in agreement, pushing my coat off my body and ran my hands through my long tangled hair until it ran smoothly. "I can't believe I actually slept here all night."

"You were lucky that nothing happened while you were resting." Godric pointed out, his face narrowing slightly as we both seemed to think of what could have happened during the night. Godric shook his head. "Anything could have crept down here and attacked you and I couldn't have done anything to help you."

"Well, nothing did happen so we don't have to freak over that." I reminded him, knowing it could have been really bad but I preferred not to think about that. "If you were so worried, why didn't you just scream at me to wake up?"

"You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake you." He answered back with a smile that could best be described as being serene. He shuffled around as he made himself comfortable until he was sitting cross legged in front of me. "I watched you all night and I have never been as fascinated by watching a human dream as I am by you."

"Really?" I was amused by this comment and slightly thrilled that a 2,000 year old vampire was intrigued by watching me sleep. "I didn't say anything embarrassing in my sleep did I?"

"Well, that depends on what you consider embarrassing." Godric replied with a raise of his eyebrows and a wicked little grin. "Do you remember what you dreamed about?"

"Unfortunately yes." I grumbled, feeling my cheeks flare up with a wave of heat as I thought back to the images of the tall, blonde vampire who had haunted my dreams all night. "Eric has a way of always popping up even when I'm trying my hardest not to think about him."

"Do you dream of him often?" Godric wanted to know, his face lighting up at the mention of his progeny and he actually leaned forward towards the light. "Because you certainly mumbled his name more then a few times during the night."

"I dream about Eric more then I care to." I admitted, hating myself for all the times that his face entered my mind and distracted me. Sometimes it just didn't matter what walls I built or whatever mental blocks I threw up, Eric somehow managed to worm his way in and I was helpless to stop it. I didn't want to admit that it was because I was still fighting against my unresolved issues with him but that didn't make it untrue. I would eventually have to settle things with Eric but for now, I didn't care to think of him and just started turning my head to distract myself until I did find something that grabbed my attention. My eyes landed on a pair of empty plastic bottles lying against the side of the tunnel on the floor and I found myself grinning like a child on Christmas morning. My eyes shot back to Godric who was now looking at me with a grin of his own as he too had seen my reaction to the sight. "You actually drank both bottles."

"Well, you did tell me I couldn't stop you from drawing blood in the first place and I didn't want it to go to waste. Otherwise you would have put yourself through this for nothing. So I drank it." Godric explained, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "But I refuse to let you do that again. I understand that you were hurting last night but you will never behave that way again. Do you understand?"

"Yes daddy." I rolled my eyes at his over protective tone but I appreciated it none the less. I was going to tease him about it but as I turned my eyes more intensely on his body, I found the comeback being frozen in my throat. My eyes widened considerably as I took in his image and I was shocked by what I saw. I was so distracted by talking to him that I never saw that his body had become more solid then it had been last night. And as I looked at him, I could barely formulate a sentence. "You...you're..it's..you're becoming whole again. Aren't you?"

"Yes, the blood is working." He replied with an even bigger smile, the happiness overflowing from his eyes and reaching out to me in such a way that it made all thoughts of Eric disappear from my mind. Godric could barely seem to contain himself as he spoke. "The resurrection is really taking place now."

"Holy shit." I whispered, my eyes going up and down his form, amazed that I hadn't noticed before how solid he had become. "You really are regenerating. Oh man I wish I could just jump over to your side and hug you."

"Until I really am resurrected, then that wouldn't work. You would just pass right through me and fall to the floor." He laughed, his good spirits coming out through his statement and filling me up with more happiness then I had felt in the past 2 weeks. "But when I walk out of this tomb, the second I see you I will hug you like I have never hugged a human before."

"I look forward to that day. It will be the best day I have had in a long time."

* * *

_30 minutes later_

"Well, this is certainly a change of moods." Elena mumbled to herself as she stared at the figure in the distance that she had been observing for the last 5 minutes and grinned. "She looks so happy now. What happened?"

Elena thought this over and over again, trying to figure out what it was that had Allison looking like a completely different person then the sad, distant girl she had been for over 2 weeks. She watched Allison as she walked along the empty sidewalk across the street from her with her hands in her pockets and her bag thrown up over her shoulder. There was a lightness in her step and a carefree look in her eyes that made Elena wonder if something truly extraordinary had happened. She looked both way before she crossed the street and hurried after Allison, the girl not noticing or hearing her approach until Elena reached her and took her by the shoulders to spin her around. "Someone looks like they are having a good morning."

"Yea, you could say that." The older girl replied with a giggle as she clasped her hands together joyfully. "I feel more normal then I have in a really long time."

"And you look happier." Elena pointed out, amused but ecstatic at her friend's happiness and glow. "What happened to put you in this good of a mood? I mean, you were so down after the whole Sam thing and now you just look like a completely different person. What gives?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Another giggle escaped from Allison's mouth. "Let's just say things feel more alive then ever."

"Oh my god, you had sex with Damon didn't you?" Elena found herself blurting out, wondering if this was the real reason for Allison's renewed good spirits. She grabbed the girl by the arm again and pulled her over to a bench nearby and sat her down. "Did you finally jump into bed with him?"

"Why do you always think that is the reason whenever I am suddenly happy?" Allison asked, her hair being whipped back from the wind. "And for your information, I did not sleep with Damon. So stop thinking I did."

"Oh it's only a matter of time until that happens. I see the looks you guys give each other." Elena said wickedly, watching the blush creep up into Allison's face and Elena knew she was totally thinking about it right now. But there would be another time for teasing. "But seriously. Why so happy?"

"I just came back from seeing Godric and my blood is finally starting to take effect on him." She exclaimed, grabbing Elena's arm with both hands as she sat up excitedly. "Elena, the resurrection is really happening. It won't be long until he can walk out of the tomb and be a real vampire again."

"That is definitely cause for being happy." Elena nodded and then leaned forward to embrace Allison and hug her very tightly. "I'm glad that this has put you in a good mood. I was starting to think nothing would pull you out of this slump."

"Sorry about the last weeks, that wasn't fair to you guys when all you were doing was trying to help. And I appreciate your efforts, I really do." Allison told her when they had broken apart from each other and sat back with her hands in her lap. "But seeing Godric has really forced a turnaround and I finally feel like I can start to move on and let the past be in the past."

"Well good for you. It's about time you were really happy." Elena stated with a smile and a nod full of certainty. "And I'm glad to have my friend back."

"I'm glad to be back." Allison agreed, her white teeth showing as her lips parted in a huge grin. "But unfortunately I have to cut this reunion short. I have someone I have to go see."

"And who might that be?" But Elena had a feeling that she already knew the answer. She just wanted Allison to say it out loud.

"A Mr. Damon Salvatore to be perfectly honest." She said without the slightest hint of embarrassment as she stood up and adjusted her bag on her shoulder.

"Now that is one visitor he would love to have early in the morning. That is if is keeping himself awake for the day." Elena kept herself reigned in so she wouldn't explode with excitement over this little piece of news that Allie had told her. "I guess you will have to tell me about it later."

"If there is anything to tell." Allison pointed out with a smirk before she turned on her heels and walked away.

* * *

_15 minutes later_

_Knock...knock...knock_

"I can't answer the door you moron. I'm a vampire and it's light out." Damon shouted at the front door as he refused to move from his spot on the couch in the light tight living room and just screamed at whoever was at the front of the house. He wasn't worried, there was nothing out in the world that could over power him so he was quite confident when he said, "It's open, just come in already and stop it with the noise."

He heard the door open and a set of footsteps walk over the wooden floor as the person entered the house and then shut the door behind them. As soon as it was silent again, he found himself grinning, not because the noise was gone, but because he recognized the smell of sweet blood in the air and he instantly knew who it was that had come over. Still, he kept his position on the couch and waited for her to appear in the room and it took everything within him not to jump up and meet her halfway. He listened to her tiny footsteps as they began moving again and soon enough, there she was in the doorway, looking just delectable as she had from the first night he saw her. Except this time there was a smile on her face that he hadn't seen in a very long time, just like he hadn't seen her in just as long. He watched as she dropped her bag on a nearby table and shrugged herself out of her coat and toss it over the back of a chair before she stepped further into the room and grinned shyly at him.

"Hi Damon." She said quietly, sticking her hands in her back pockets as she strolled forward just as he finally got up off the couch.

"Well, long time no see." He retorted with a smirk as he stood there with his arms crossed. "Finally decided to stop hiding?"

"Yea I guess you could say that." She shrugged her tiny shoulders as she brought her hands up to her long brown hair and twirled it around her fingers. "But I'm here now and I wanted to see you."

"What for?" He asked, taking notice of the look in her eyes and seeing that she obviously had something on her mind and he was intrigued by it. "Well?"

Instead of answering him back with an explanation, he just stared in amazement as she started walking up to him with no hesitation in her face and reached out and wrapped her hands around his arms. He was going to ask her what she was doing when she somehow managed to move him backwards until he was sitting on the couch again and she was standing before him with a sexy little smirk on her thin lips. He didn't get a chance to even open his mouth before she moved again and swung her legs over his so she was straddling his lap with her arms around his neck and her breath falling warm against his cold cheek. He didn't even have to ask where this was going to lead because she answered it for him when she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. If her actions weren't so shocking, he would have been the one to initiate this within seconds of her speaking. But she had taken charge and was now the one man handling him in a way that he had never been before. Her hands moved from around his neck to his shoulders, her fingers touching the skin at the base of his throat as she continued to kiss him. Her taste was intoxicating and if he had been human, this would have been the moment when his heart started to race. His chest may have been still, but his blood began to boil as her lips traveled across his jawline, leaving a trail of fire wherever they touched and for a second, he remembered what it felt like to be just a man and to be with a woman. She was beautiful and sexy and just breath-taking without even trying. And the more he felt her hands on his body, the more he found himself losing his grip of the control he fought so hard to hold on to.

"Not that I don't like this..." He said, pulling back from her and setting his hands on her hips to hold her in place as he stared into her eyes with a grin. "But what's with this sudden display of affection?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, her face flushed pink as she was momentarily overcome with embarrassment and looked downward at her lap. "I had a good morning and I wanted to keep it going by kissing you."

Damon grinned at the embarrassed look that flooded her eyes and she turned to look away, but he grabbed her by her chin and pulled her face back to him. And then it was him forcing their mouths together, feeling the crackle of electricity between them as he kissed her. He brought his hands to the small of her back, pressing on her spine to make her arch into him and sure enough she did move closer into his arms. He ran his fingers up and down her body, feeling her shudder underneath his touch as he pulled back to look in her face once more.

"I am definitely not complaining about this..."

* * *

_A few hours later_

"I should go." I told Damon later that morning as I sat in the curve of his arm with my head against his shoulder and sighed. I really had no desire to move from this spot. Not only was I physically comfortable, but I was in a much better place mentally and I felt safe and at peace for once. And I didn't want it to end. I had felt this since the moment I walked into this house and kissed him like I had wanted to do for two weeks. And since then we had just sat here on the couch, him with his arm around me tightly and me with my hand on his knee, never saying more then just a few words at a time, but that was ok. Right now words didn't really need to be spoken. I was perfectly happy just sitting there with him and he seemed to feel the same. But eventually I had to break that moment and speak. "I have to get home and shower and run some errands. So I should leave now."

"Put it off." He mumbled, almost sleepily as he tilted his head to the side to look at me with a smile. "Do it another day and just stay here with me for the day."

"I can't do that. I wish I could, trust me. But I can't." I replied, honestly considering just throwing my hands up and saying the hell with it. But I couldn't overstep my boundaries for myself just because I was caught up in the moment. I sat up and felt his arm drop away from me as I moved. "Besides, you're supposed to be resting and you have the bleeds right now because its the middle of the morning."

"Oh it's nothing." He disagreed, using the back of his hand to swipe it across his nose to get rid of the trickle of blood that had rolled down from his nostrils and smirked. "See? All better."

"Nice try, but you've been bleeding onto my arm for the past hour and totally ruined my clothing. And I just did laundry." I pretended to be annoyed but my good mood was flying so high that I ended up laughing at myself. And still I stood up and headed over to where my jacket and bag where and began pulling both over my shoulders all while keeping my eyes on Damon. Once I was through and standing there ready to go, I spoke again. "Thank you for letting me stay. And thanks for all the other times you were here for me when I needed it. It means a lot to me."

"Don't get all emotional now. That is so like a human." He said, rolling his eyes as he sat back against the couch with his arms crossed. His blue eyes met mine and he smirked. "It was nothing."

I stared at him for a full minute without saying a word and just observed the way he was looking at me. Like he didn't think anything of what he was doing for me. Like his actions didn't mean anything and they could be easily dismissed and forgotten about. But that wasn't going to happen. And that was why I walked over to the couch and placed my hand on his cold pale cheek so he would look at me straight on when I did what I did next. I didn't let him speak and leaned down to kiss him, keeping my lips on his mouth for a long time and deepening the kiss as much as I could. I was hoping that by doing this he would be able to feel the gratitude I felt for all the little things he did. They may not mean much to other people, but they did to me. So when I pulled away, I smiled and leaned my forehead against his.

"It wasn't nothing Damon. It was something." I whispered, knowing he could hear me with his vampire senses and I could feel him moving as I spoke. "it was everything. Especially to me."

And then I moved away and walked toward the front door, leaving Damon to stare after me with a look of wonder on his face.

**A/N: so there you have it...Allie is back on good terms with damon and elena...and damon got kind of man-handled by allie...and godric is on his way to being resurrected...goodness all around..so much fun to write...and now the finale is even closer...5 chapters to go!**


	29. Thinking out loud

**Chapter 29 Thinking out loud**

_"Maybe I shouldn't have come here...it was probably a mistake..."_

_"...i tried talking to her before and it never worked out. So why should this time be any different?"_

_"..this is ridiculous...she'll never forgive me...and why should she? I was bitch for how I acted so I don't blame her and Elena for hating me.."_

_"..even though I regret how I acted...and I would do anything to regain her and Elena's forgiveness..."_

I lifted my head up from the pile of receipts I was sorting through at the empty bar and looked across the partially filled restaurant over to the table where Bonnie had been sitting for the past hour, picking at her food while her thoughts ran rampant since the moment she walked through the door way. I had seen her come in, being that I was working behind the bar tonight, but I had somehow managed to avoid her which wasn't too hard considering she was avoiding me too. I didn't care that she was here and I had no desire to talk to her and I had done my best to just keep to myself until she was ready to leave. But my ignoring her didn't keep me from noticing the way she kept on glancing at me from the corner of her eye as if she were thinking of breaking the tension between us and coming over to talk. I tried not to be curious and I tried my hardest not to listen to any stray thoughts but she was thinking so loud and so strongly that her thoughts came seeping in anyway and I was starting to feel a change come over me. I looked up at her table, noting that she was just sitting there with her hand in her chin and staring down at her plate with a pensive look on her face and the expression she wore made me sigh heavily. Her thoughts kept repeating themselves, over and over again and it began to set in that perhaps Bonnie really was sorry. I had just heard her say that she regretted her actions and wished she hadn't behaved that way. It was what I had been hoping to hear for months now so maybe it was time to let it all go. Maybe I should talk to her. I mean, everyone deserved a second chance, right?

"I may regret this but what the hell." I said to myself, stuffing the receipts into a folder and storing it underneath the bar before I walked out from behind it and started making my way over to Bonnie's table. She didn't see me coming and luckily neither Elena or the Salvatores were in the building to stop me or to even distract me. I was on a mission to put things back together again in my life and I was starting with the things right here in Mystic Falls and that included fixing things with Bonnie. I may not have liked her decision, but it was her decision and I didn't want to keep carrying around this torment and anguish over it. I had enough pain in my life from before I even got here. I did not need to hold on to any more pain when it wasn't even necessary. I kept reminding myself of this when I reached the table and slid into the chair right across from Bonnie and watched her head snap up in surprise when I folded my arms on top of the table and said. "Hey Bonnie."

"Allison!" Bonnie's mouth fell open wide and she blinked rapidly as if to make sure it was really me who had sat down with her. "What are you doing?"

"I figured we should finally talk since that's all you have been thinking about since you set foot in here tonight." I explained, tapping my finger to my head to indicate what I meant. "I heard your thoughts just now. And I think it's time that we got everything out on the table so to speak."

"Yea, I've been debating about whether to come up and try one more time to talk to you and put this behind us for good. But I was kind of afraid that it would turn out like the last few times I tried." She admitted, dropping her fork to the nearly full plate of food and sat forward with her elbows on the table and bit down on her lip. "I really messed me with this whole Godric thing. I did not go about it the right way at all."

"No. No you certainly didn't." I nodded my head, feeling a flash of anger as I remembered the way she had flat out refused to help me. "And the way you talked to me about it just really pissed me off. I don't remember ever being as angry as I was that night when you said no to helping me. It was so incredibly mean and cruel and I thought you were better then that."

"I am better then that. I realize that now and I should have realized that before. But I didn't and I am so sorry." Bonnie replied, a look of shame passing through her eyes before she looked down. "I hate how I acted and it makes me hate myself to remember how I behaved. That's not me and I don't leave my friends out on the ledge but that's what I did. And you're right, it was cruel and I've been horrible to you and Elena, but especially to you. You needed help for your friend and I just dismissed it because of my past with that tomb and vampires. I should have approached the situation, telling myself that every vampire is different just like every human is different. But I didn't and I wish like hell I could go back and change it all."

"I wish you could too,because it would have saved everyone a lot of pain and anguish, especially when it comes to me. I wouldn't have had to give blood on a constant basis and I wouldn't be weak and tired all the time when you could have just done the spell. It would have been over that night if you had just thought clearly. But you didn't and there is no point in wishing you could go back because you can't. What's done is done." I shrugged my shoulders as I said this, watching as my words had an effect on her and she seemed to shrink further back in her chair, almost cowering from guilt and shame. She knew how she acted was wrong, I could tell by the look on her face and the thoughts going through her head. She didn't want to hold on to this pain any more then I did. And hearing that in her head made something inside of me cut off and float away. I sat back also in my chair and sighed. "You really are sorry aren't you?"

"More then you can ever know." She muttered, tucking her hands under her arms as she chewed down on her bottom lip. "Look, just tell me what I have to do or say to get your forgiveness. Because I don't want things to be the way they are."

I sighed again for what seemed like the 20th time in a five minute span and tugged on my long hair as I debated what to do. Bonnie was watching me with an nervous eye as if she feared for my next reaction. And truthfully, I wanted to just get up and forget I ever sat down to talk to her. It would be so much easier to just hold a grudge forever rather then work this out. But it was like I realized before. There was already too much pain in my life and if I had a chance to get rid of some of it now then that's what I was going to do. And maybe then I would finally be able to start healing properly.

"OK, look.." I started to say, leaning forward again so I was closer to her and swallowed hard. "This is what we're going to do. We're going to let all this bad stuff go and just start over. There is no reason to keep on living in the past. It's not healthy and I don't want to do it anymore. So let's just be done with it. Just forget the whole thing and begin fresh."

"Just like that?" Bonnie obviously wasn't expecting that to come out of my mouth and her face didn't hold back the doubt that she had about what I had just said. "You can just let it go right now and things will be ok? You really believe that?"

"Yea, I do." I nodded and a small smile started making its way out onto my face. I knew right then that the decision I had made was the right way to go. And I was standing by it. "Everyone deserves a second chance. And I'm giving you yours. So what do you say?"

"I guess I say..."Bonnie almost seemed at a loss for words for a minute and she went silent for a moment while she appeared to try and formulate a good enough response. And finally she looked up and smiled. "I guess I say consider it done and over with and a new beginning in its place."

"Glad to hear that, it feels right." I felt a flood of relief go through me as soon as she said this and it made me smile even brighter. Finally one part of my life was looking up and fixing itself and I knew everything was going to be ok. I just had to make sure that Bonnie knew what she had to do to finish this. "But in order for this forgiveness thing to be true. You need to do one thing for me."

"Oh I will do anything." Bonnie replied excitedly, her eyes lighting up in a way that hadn't been seen since before this whole fight had happened. "what do I have to do?"

"You need to make things right with Elena. She still needs to forgive you too." I reminded her, knowing that it was Elena who really needed to heal from this experience, even more then me. "She's your friend and me forgiving you won't mean a thing unless you guys make up. So go do it. And let's get things back to normal."

"Ok." Bonnie nodded, standing up and grabbing her bag and taking out her wallet so she could go to the front to pay. But before she walked away, she looked down at me and smiled. "Thank you for you your forgiveness."

"Thank you for realizing the mistake you made and for trying to fix it." I said, also getting up and then doing something I wasn't expecting. I stepped forward and embraced her, hugging her tightly. "I always thought you were better then how you were acting. So don't make me doubt that ever again."

"I promise you I won't.."

* * *

_5 minutes later_

"Do you know how nice it feels to take a walk with you and hold your hand?" Elena asked Stefan with a smile as she turned her head from where it leaned against his shoulder and looked up into his handsome face as they continued to move down the sidewalk. "It's the best feeling in the world."

"For once, I completely agree with you on that." He said back with a raise of his dark eyebrows before he pressed his cold lips against her forehead. "There is something very tranquil about tonight and being with you. I feel more at peace now then I have in a very long time. And I don't have those moments all that often."

"So you're glad I dragged you out of the house then?" Elena smirked when she thought back to how she had to practically beg Stefan to come out with her even though he was perfectly happy just staying at the house for the night. Eventually he did relent and they set off on foot towards the main part of town and she could see the way the effects of being out had on Stefan. He was definitely relaxed and she loved seeing that smile on his face. "I told you it would be a good night."

"Any night with you is a good night." He said sweetly, causing a blush to appear on her face and she laid her head against his shoulder as they walked. He squeezed her fingers softly before letting them go and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "You make this whole world bearable for me."

"You are being very charming tonight. And I have to say I am really liking it." Elena giggled, curving her arm around his waist and squeezing his side with her hand. She was lucky and she knew it. Not only because she had managed to find the love of her life at such a young age, but also because there weren't many vampires like Stefan out in the world. He was one of those rare exceptions to the stigma about the immortals and he had chosen her. He had bound himself to her in every way possible and she had never felt such security in her life. He was it for it, she would never love anyone the way she loved Stefan. She turned her head to look at him again and smiled. "I love you."

"And I love you too. More then I ever thought it was possible for a monster to love a human." He said, bringing them to a stop on the empty sidewalk and he placed his hands on either side of her face before saying seriously. "I love you so much. And I know I don't say it as often as I should and I am sorry for that. But just know I truly do love you. And I'm going to make it more of a point to tell you that every day."

"Talk like that a little bit longer and you just may get lucky tonight." She teased, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him. She could never get tired of that soaring feeling in her stomach whenever their lips met. It was so much like a drug and there was no way she could ever let it go.

"Um...sorry to interrupt, but can we talk?" A quiet voice asked from the nearby doorway of the Mystic Grill and Elena broke apart from Stefan with a roll of her eyes as she knew it was Bonnie right away. Her former best friend stood there with her hands in her pockets and looked between her and Stefan before nodding behind her. "I just spoke to Allison and I made peace with her. And she told me to do the same with you."

"Allison forgave you?" Elena scoffed, not believing it for a second. It didn't seem possible considering how hurt the other girl had been by Bonnie's refusal to help with Godric. "Somehow I doubt that."

"Well she did and you can ask her yourself later. But right now I really want to talk to you." Bonnie pushed on, stepping closer to her and Stefan and it was then that Elena could see the determined expression in the eyes of the girl she once thought of as her sister. "Please Elena, I want this all to be put behind us. We can't let it destroy us any more. Let's just have a talk, a real talk."

"You know what? That's not a bad idea." Stefan jumped in, taking her by the arm and gently pushing her in Bonnie's direction despite her sending a look of death his way and he of course ignored it. "You guys talk and I'll just go to the bar and have a drink."

"Stefan..." Elena began to protest but he was already gone, disappearing through the doorway of the Grill with a gust of wind and the noise of the door slamming shut behind him before she had no choice but to turn around and look at Bonnie with a sigh. "I will give you exactly 10 minutes of my time. If you haven't managed to convince me to forgive you by then, then I am walking away."

"All I ask is just for some time...i will make this right. I can promise you that.."

* * *

_Inside the Grill_

"Well hello stranger."

"Hello to you too." Stefan replied back, grinning brightly as he slid onto a stool at the bar and focused his eyes on the girl standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. He took in her improved posture and the way her eyes glittered as if she didn't have a care in the world anymore and he couldn't help but point out the obvious. "Bonnie wasn't lying was she? She really did make peace with you."

"Believe it or not she did." Allison nodded in confirm and slid him a warm bottle of blood that he hadn't even noticed she had taken out and warmed up for him. "I heard her thoughts when she was eating dinner and she seemed really ashamed of how she had been acting for the past couple of months. So I sat down with her and we kind of hashed out everything."

"And it all went well?" He asked, taking a sip of the blood and watched as she sent him a smile that he was glad to see. It had been too long since she had smiled like that. "I'm glad. It's about time that this whole mess was over and done with."

"I just hope she manages to fix things with Elena as well." Allie mumbled, using one hand to run it through her hair. "Those two have been friends forever. It shouldn't end like this."

"I know Elena misses her. Even when she doesn't say it." Stefan pressed his lips together as he thought back to all the times he spent with Elena and noticed that she would sometimes just stare off into the distance and go silent for sometimes 30 minutes at a time. But she always said it was just because she was tired and it had nothing to do with anything that was bothering her. But he knew better, he knew Elena wanted her friend back despite all the fighting that had occurred between them. He looked up to see Allison watching him and he shrugged. "She needs Bonnie back in her life. I just hope she doesn't let her pride get in the way."

"If I can forgive Bonnie, then Elena can too. She just has to decide to do it and it can all be ok." Allison pointed out, tapping her fingers on the bar counter. "Sometimes talking can be the best thing ever."

"Speaking of talking, this will be a nice transition into a more pleasant subject." Stefan commented, wanting to leave behind the Bonnie/Elena situation in case it somehow jinxed it. But a light-bulb went off in his head as he remembered something that he knew Allison would love to hear. "So after you left the house the other morning, I had to listen to my brother yammer like an idiot for an hour because he wanted you to stay."

"Da..Damon talked about me after I had gone?" Allison looked flustered as she spoke and he could hear her heartbeat increase as soon as he told her this, just further proof that there was definitely something serious brewing between them. "What exactly did he say?"

"Well, let's just say that it would make you extremely uncomfortable to hear it coming out of my mouth." He warned her, knowing if he were human, he would be turning red right now. The things his brother had told him were so dirty and explicit that he couldn't imagine repeating them. "But you know Damon. So you can kind guess what he said."

"I think I get it." The brunette giggled, squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment at the topic they were discussing. "And yea, it would be weird to hear you say those things. So its good that you warned me. I won't ask you to say it."

"I've never heard Damon talk this much about a human before. He must really like you." Stefan stated, knowing that his brother's feelings went much deeper then like but that wasn't up to him to say out loud. Damon had to be the one to do it, but it wasn't Stefan's place to do it for him. He looked at Allison and was surprised to see a look of doubt on her face. "What?"

"Nothing, I just don't think Damon looks at me as anything other then just a piece of ass." She replied, clasping her hands together as she leaned forward. "I know vampires like him and I'm not stupid enough or naive enough to think he could ever get serious about me."

"You guys are ridiculous, you know that right?" Stefan shook his head and fought the urge to groan. "Your avoidance of your feelings for each other is so damn amusing but sad at the same time. I mean, you like him, don't you?"

"Of course I do. But I'm not going to put myself out there only to end up looking like an idiot. It just won't happen." Allison told him with a stubborn look on her face. "I think we both know that Damon will never cop up to feeling anything for me, so we should just forget about it."

"Why don't you just ask him?" Stefan suggested, tucking his hand under his arms. "You might be surprised, he might actually admit to it."

"I don't think I can do that." She shook her head, her long hair tumbling over her shoulder and she instantly started tugging on it nervously. "It would just be weird..."

"Yea, but if you don't ask him straight out, then you may never really know how he feels..."

* * *

_20 minutes later_

"So...what are you thinking about right now?' Bonnie hesitantly asked her as the two of them sat together on a bench in the town square as they had been doing for the past 15 minutes when they had wanted to stop walking and just stared at each other.

"I'm trying to process everything you just said to me." Elena admitted, pressing her hands to the side of her face as the wind blew her hair across back and she looked at Bonnie in a new light for the first time in a really long time. "It's a lot to take in."

It really had been and Elena hadn't been prepared for what she would hear and how she would feel from hearing it. When she agreed to give Bonnie a chance to talk, she was kind of expecting it to end as all the other conversations had ended, either with them screaming at each other or just walking away in a huff. But neither of those outcomes had occurred and that surprised Elena, probably because Bonnie jumped right into the explanation without even trying to make small talk and in a way that was a good thing. It forced all the problems that they had been having to be put out in the open without giving it a chance to be side swiped. Bonnie told her about the conversation she had with Allison and how they rehashed their own issues and how Bonnie had apologized for being such a complete and utter bitch to everyone. She talked about how she had been shamed of her actions and that Allison was right when she had said that Bonnie had been cruel with her behavior. Bonnie touched on the guilt and shame she had been feeling when thinking back to all the fights and disagreements they had been having and it was her own fault that their friendship fallen apart the way it had and that Elena had been in the right this whole time. A real friend wouldn't have dismissed the situation the way Bonnie had and although it had taken a few months, it finally dawned on Bonnie that she needed to make amends and apologize and beg for forgiveness from everyone. And after all this had been said, Bonnie fell silent, giving Elena a chance to just soak it all in.

"You know, I never wanted it to get as bad as it did." Elena told the young witch, looking at her with a small frown. "Even when I was mad at you, I always felt like we would work things out. But then it got so heated and so angry that we just had this huge rift between us and I didn't know how to close that distance."

"I never wanted to hurt you. That was never my intention at all. And i just wanted you to know that." Bonnie said, twirling her wavy hair with her fingers. "This fall out with us was completely on me and I never should have made it as bad as I did. And I'm really sorry about that. I'm so sorry for everything."

"If you could go back to that moment when Allie asked you to help her, would you change your mind?" Elena wanted to know, pressing her lips together in anticipation of Bonnie's answer. "Would you have helped Godric?"

"We're being honest right?" Bonnie asked and when Elena nodded curtly, she went on. "I would change how I immediately responded to everything. I would change how I spoke to Allison and to you about the situation. I wouldn't have dismissed it without thinking like I did. Because you were right, it was ok for me to say no. But what wasn't ok was the way I said it. And that's what I would change. And I'm sorry to say this but I just cant change my stance on my decision. I just can't and that's how I feel."

"I don't like it, but I accept it." Elena answered with the smallest of smiles. She knew she couldn't fault Bonnie for what she believed in just like Bonnie couldn't fault her for wanting to help Allison. That's just how they felt about certain aspects of the problem and Elena didn't really feel like she could give Bonnie a hard time about it anymore especially since she understood why Bonnie had been so resistant to helping. She reached out and placed her hand on top of Bonnie's and smiled again. I wish you had helped, but I can't you for saying no. You had the right to refuse and I'm also sorry, sorry for not supporting you when you did make your choice. I wasn't being much of a best friend either when I didn't stand by you."

"I really missed you." Bonnie told her, and she moved forward at the same time Elena did and the two of them hugged each other for the first time in months. "I hated this fight. It was too long."

"Way too long." Elena agreed, squeezing her newly reinstated best friend tightly. "But it's over now and we should just focus on the future."

"Do you think we'll ever get back to the way we were?" Bonnie wanted to know when they pulled back from one another. "Is friendship going to be the same?"

"No, at least not yet. It will take a while for us to get passed this but I think eventually our relationship will be stronger then it ever has been. Just as long as we remember we can be split apart like we were if another situation like this comes up." Elena said with certainty, knowing it would be easy but it would happen. That was something she was sure of. "Fight over?"

"Fight over."

* * *

_10 minutes later_

"Oh my god I just love you right now." Elena gushed as she threw herself into his arms the moment he exited the Mystic Grill and started moving down the sidewalk to look for her, only she found him first. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tighter then she ever had before. "You were so right when you said I should talk to Bonnie. It was definitely one of your better ideas."

"So everything worked out then?" Stefan asked even though he already knew what the answer would be. He always had faith that those two would somehow find their way back to each other and it was just a matter of the right time and it was now apparently. "I'm so happy for you. I know how miserable you've been without her. And I'm glad you have your best friend back."

"Me too, me too." She nodded, grinning broadly as she stepped back from him and took his hand. "This night has taken a turn for the better. I fixed things with Bonnie. I have the most wonderful vampire in the whole world at my side and Damon isn't around to bother me. It's a good night."

"Speaking of Damon, that reminds me of the conversation I had with Allison about that mean old brother of mine." Stefan pointed out to her as they started walking again as they had been doing earlier. "When you were talking to Bonnie, I went to the bar like I said and I began talking to Allison. And eventually it turned to her and Damon and I mentioned that he has been talking about her a lot and you know what her response was?"

"I can only imagine but go ahead." Elena wrapped her arms around his as they strolled down the street. "What did she say?"

"That Damon could never be serious about her and that she doubts that he even feels anything for her other then desire." Stefan shook his head as he said this, still amazed by both Damon and Allison's stubborn refusal to cop up to anything. "She doesn't believe that he cares for her. She's still pretending like it's not serious."

"That's such crap and we both know it." Elena exclaimed, obviously having the same opinion as he did about the situation. "Anyone who spends time with them when they are together can see that not only are those two totally hot for each other but that they genuinely care about one another. It's right there."

"Oh I know it is. I mean, Damon doesn't have to say it to me for me to know that he cares. His actions speak wonders about the great unspoken." Stefan pointed out about his brother's behavior. "He was the one who went to the tomb in the first place to figure out how else to help Godric. Damon was the one who took care of Allison after she gave blood. He was the one who comforted her when Sam left a few weeks back. He wouldn't have done any of those things if he didn't care at all."

"Exactly my point." Elena threw her hands up in the air to make her point before stuffing them in her coat pockets. "He cares and we both know it. But unless he says it out loud, Allison will never trust that he could be serious."

"I told her to ask him bluntly how he felt about her. But she doesn't think it would work." Stefan relayed to his girlfriend about the end of his talk with Allison. "I don't know what she is going to do, but she looked like she was going to do something."

"Do you think she will actually ask him?" Elena questioned, curiosity in her voice that reflected his own thoughts.

"With those two, you never know."

* * *

_At the Salvatore house_

"Well, well, this is quite a pleasant surprise." A smug voice called out from the living room as I passed through the front door of Stefan and Damon's house and let it fall shut behind me. I pulled my arms out of my coat and hung it up on the hook by the door and walked towards the room where Damon was waiting for me. I hadn't even bothered to call when I left the Grill after my shift ended, I just knew he would be here and of course I was right. I walked into the living room and there he was, lying on his back in front of the fireplace looking at me with that damn smirk of his. As soon as our eyes met, he got to his feet and with a flash, he was in front of me. "Couldn't get enough of the one and only Damon Salvatore, could you?"

His actions the second after this didn't shock me, although I was pleasantly surprised by what he did. His hands grabbed me by the arms and he pushed me against the nearest wall and then his lips were on mine before I could protest. Not that I minded, it was kind of hot how he just took charge like that. And I liked being caught off guard like this, his hands always moving up and down my body and his mouth leaving a trail of fire anywhere he kissed me. Of course I wasn't going to stop him. He felt too wonderful against me and I would be a fool not to enjoy touching him for as long as I could. His shoulders were so sculpted perfectly in my hands and his stomach was so chiseled that it would have been a masterpiece. And to me that was exactly what Damon was, a masterpiece. Something so incredible to look at that it was hard to think of anything else when there was a body like pressed up against me. But I had to keep in mind the reason I came here in the first place.

"Damon...Damon hold on a second." I told him, grabbing his hands when they began to creep up under my shirt and pushed him back at arm's length. If he were any closer then I could never say what needed to be said. "I need to ask you something."

"What could be so important that you would interrupt me..."

"How do you feel about me?" I blurted out, instantly slapping my hands over my mouth but the words were already out there and Damon actually stepped back from me, putting more distance between us and looking like he had been slapped and it had hurt him. I clenched my fists, figuring I might as well get this whole thing out now. "What do I mean to you? How do you feel?"

"I ...I feel nothing." He said slowly in response with a halfhearted shrug. "Absolutely nothing."

"I'm confused then." I frowned, knowing deep down that he couldn't possible be serious despite what he had just said. I may doubt that he felt anything serious, but he had to have cared in some capacity or else we wouldn't have a moment like we were having now. "If you feel nothing, then what would you call this thing we have been doing for the past month?"

"This is what it is. This is just about having fun and nothing more." Damon told me bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest and he braced his feet on the floor as he stared at me blankly. "I'm a vampire Allison. And I am a monster. Don't expect me to have feelings."

"I guess I shouldn't expect a lot thing from you." I said with a sigh, wanting to roll my eyes at him being more stubborn about this whole thing then I was. I should have known that this would be the reaction, I had history to back it up and I was crazy to think it would be anything different. I just shook my head and started backing away in frustration. "You know what? I don't think I will be staying after all. Good night Damon."

I turned away and stomped towards the door and as soon as I grabbed my coat, I was out the door and back to my car, wanting to get as far away as I could.

**A/N: and there you have it...another turning point chapter...allie demands to know Damon's true feelings and he cant be honest, so typical...but there is plenty of drama left in the last 4 chapter before the finale...and the big even coming up is the resurrection of our favorite vampire...Godric comes back to life! everyone rejoice! oh yea and please review **


	30. One Step Closer

**Chapter 30 One Step Closer**

"Ok, seriously. What is your problem now?" Elena asked me a few days later as we sat inside my living room and tried to watch a movie together but all I could do was focus on the floor with a frown on my face. Elena had commented on it before but she always let it go and now it seemed like she was going to force the subject to find out what was going on and truthfully, I was glad she was doing it. I needed someone to talk to, I just didn't want to be the one to start the conversation. And she only was more then happy to find out yet another reason why I was pulling into myself. "Allie, what is going on?"

"I'm feeling lost is what is going on." I told her, turning my head where it had been laying on my knees and looked at her. She appeared confused by what I had said so I went on. "I went to go see Damon the night I made up with Bonnie and I asked him straight out how he felt about me."

"Oh my god I can't believe you would actually end up doing that. Stefan said he didn't think you would really go through with it." Elena exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in amusement over this statement, but then she got more sober and watched me carefully when she spoke again. "What did he say?"

"He answered in typical Damon fashion." I muttered, shaking my head in annoyance as that night came back to me and I fought the urge to throw something against the wall. "He said that he was a monster and that I shouldn't expect him to have feelings. And I just got so fed up that I turned around and walked back out."

"Oh man...that's just...funny." Elena burst out laughing, covering her face with her fingers while I just stared at her in surprise. This was not the reaction I was expecting to come out of her.

"My pain is funny to you?" I scratched my head, trying to make sense of it. She was now confusing me as much as Damon was. "Are you for real?"

"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at the situation you two are in. That's what is hilarious to me." Elena shrugged, her shoulders shaking as she tried not to keep on laughing and I could tell from her thoughts that she wasn't reacting like this to hurt me. She really was genuinely amused by this. She looked right at me and shook her head. "You and Damon keep on playing this cat and mouse game where one of you is always chasing the other but when it comes down to actually being serious and honest, you both shy away from it. Aren't you tired of it?"

"I guess we do kind of do that." I mumbled in agreement, knowing of course that she was spot on. Damon and I were playing a game whether we realized it or not. If it wasn't him calling the shots, it was me but it never went beyond that. It never got to the point where we actually talked about the fact that there was something else growing between us. I looked at Elena and sighed. "What is supposed to happen now?"

"Honestly?" Elena asked, her lips forming a devious smile and when I nodded she spoke again, this time more bluntly. "You both need to cut the crap and just admit that you have feelings for one another."

""Uh, I already did that, unless you weren't listening." I shot back with a roll of my eyes.

"No you didn't. Not really. You just went to the house and demanded to know how he felt. You didn't offer any insight to your feelings, you just expected him to spill his guts and not the other way around." She pointed out to me, sitting back on the couch with her arms crossed and smug smile on her face. "And you know I'm right."

"Ok, so I just go up to him and say 'Oh hey Damon, guess what? I like you' and then that is the end of it?" I asked, throwing my hands up in the air and put my feet back down on the floor so I could stretch out my legs. "It's not that easy Elena."

"See that is where you are wrong. It is that easy." Elena protested, rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers to get rid of the headache I was surely giving her before saying. "You know that all it takes is one sentence to finally stop this madness. But you won't do it. Because you are just afraid to take a chance."

"That is...it's not...I'm..." I found that I couldn't come up with a response to that because she was right. I hated to say that even just to myself but it was true on all levels. I was terrified of taking a chance on Damon and it was more comfortable to not say out loud how I felt about him, because then it could never evolve into something that could break my heart. Because truthfully, I couldn't handle another heartbreak. I just couldn't.

* * *

_30 minutes later_

"Ok, if there was ever a time I needed you to pull some of that wisdom crap that you claim to have, then the time is now." I practically shouted in Godric's face the second I turned the corner in the tomb and came face to face with him after skidding to a stop and dropping my arms down to my sides. I took a second to collect myself because since Elena and I had stopped talking, I hadn't been able to calm down since I decided to come see Godric. He was wise, he was knowledgeable. He could guide me if I needed him to. And that was why I had rushed out of my apartment and immediately came here. If anyone could be more equipped to talk to, it was Godric. So I looked up at him and waved my hands, knowing I looked crazy. "Ok, wisdom time. Go."

"I don't even get a hello?" Godric asked, his semi solid face twisting into an expression that was more playful then I had seen on him before. "And I don't even know what you're talking about. How can I share my wisdom when you give me no place to start?"

"You're 2000 years old! You should know everything!" I exclaimed, feeling my frustrations grow like they had been doing since I had left my apartment. I narrowed my eyes into slits, knowing that if I didn't stay focused then I was going to reach a point that I did not want to go to. "Stop being so damn vague and just tell me what to do."

"I would help you in any way I could, but first you have to tell me what you need. I can see you are extremely agitated and I wish to fix it but I don't know how. So tell me." Godric replied calmly, twisting his fingers through his short transparent hair and sighed, a sound that was very human to my ears. "What is wrong little Fae?"

"It's ..it's Damon." I grumbled, already wanting to hit myself because i could feel the tears starting to rise up in the corner of my eyes. So much for staying strong. "I went to him a few nights ago and asked him what I meant to him and he just tossed it away. He said whatever was going on between us was just for fun. And that as a monster, he didn't have feelings. But I know he does, or else he wouldn't have done half the things that he has done."

"He is a very young vampire and sometimes the young ones aren't always receptive to the feelings they have stored deep inside of them. It's only natural for them and especially one like Damon to pretend like that doesn't exist. But vampires of my age know better. Its a realization that comes with age or sometimes you are just made a vampire and are lucky enough to know that. But Damon isn't like that." Godric replied, crossing his arms tightly as he began pacing, almost like he was doing it out of compassion for me so that he wouldn't have his face on me when I started to cry. "Damon is just not the kind of vampire who has an easy time of getting in touch with his humanity. But it's there. It is for almost every vampire. He just has to decide to let himself feel it."

"Well that just sucks for me." I snapped, wiping at my face with the back of my hand and pinched my nose between my fingers. "So what am I suppose to do? Just wait around and hope that his humanity springs up on him and he can tell me how he feels?'

"Some of us just need more time to do things." Godric assured me, continuing to move across the dirt floor. "Damon will come along in his own time. I have faith in him."

"And if he doesn't realize it? What then?" I wanted to know, my vision getting blurry again and I hated that my tears came rolling down without warning. I didn't bother to stop them because I knew once I wiped them away, only more would take their place. "Am I ever going to be cared about by the person I'm with? Or am I just never meant to be happy?"

"You'll only be happy when you stop lying to yourself about your feelings." Godric stated, saying this with such certainty and conviction that I was thrown for a loop and stared at him in confusion. He smiled gently, as was his way and said. "You want Damon to admit his true feelings for you, but you have to be willing to do the same in return. It's a two way street."

"But I'm scared." I said quietly, looking down at the floor before sinking to my knees and just sat there with my arms around myself. I hated the feeling of fear that was in my heart at the moment, I detested that one emotion. I had felt it way too often last year when my life was in danger and here it was again. Only this time there was no enemy. There was no demon stalking me, there was no religious group trying to make an example out of me, my life wasn't in danger, there was no battle going on. It was just plain old fear of doing anything involving my heart. "I'm so terrified about this."

"I know. I really do. I remember the way your face looked when you were in that church and it is the same look you have on right now. You have faced a lot of things that have put fear into you. Things that even have nothing to do with the Fellowship and have messed with your heart." Godric commented with a point of his finger as his own face took on an expression of melancholy. "I understand that you are scared and we both know the reason why, but I won't say it out loud. Because it obviously still causes you a lot of pain. But if you want to be happy, you need to come to terms with the past."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, even though deep down I knew exactly what he was referring to. "What are you saying?"

"I know that you know what I mean. But you are not willing to give voice to it. So I shall do it for you." Godric smiled at me, calming my frazzled nerves with that look of his. " If you truly want to move on, then you have to find some way to let go of him. You know of whom I speak. Just let him go."

I knew what he talking about. It was what I had been trying to get myself to believe for months now and it was Godric who was telling me it was ok to do it. That it was ok to start letting Eric go. That it was perfectly healthy to put the past behind me and move on. To let go of the pain and agony that had been plaguing me since I left home. It wouldn't tarnish what Eric and I had once had. It wouldn't make our time together any less beautiful. But that relationship was over with and it was about damn time that I stopped mourning over him. Eric had been the one to mess things up and I shouldn't make myself suffer because of his mistakes. I had a chance to be happy and I couldn't hold back from it any more. I had to make a choice and I had to make it now.

"Let Eric go...and be happy in whatever way you choose...don't mourn any more for what you have lost...move forward. It's time you did it."

* * *

_Late that night_

"Ok, listen bitch. It's time we settle things once and for all."

"Oh I love it when women greet me like this." Damon said gleefully, tossing the book he had been reading aside just as Allison stormed into the room looking all kinds of pissed off. And boy did he find that incredibly hot. He got up to his feet just as she reached him and stood there with his arms crossed, knowing he was about to have a lot of fun. "You look all hot and bothered. Are you finally ready to give yourself to me?"

"In your dreams." She shot back, looking disgusted and annoyed which was a particularly boiling hot kind of expression that he had come to know and love since she used it on him often. "That's all you ever think about."

"Only because you haven't slept with me yet." He replied, watching as her face only seemed to get darker at his comments. "If you would just have sex with me then you wouldn't be so up in arms right now."

"You don't even know why I am here." Allison snapped, glaring up at him in a feeble attempt to look threatening but it didn't work. She was just too sweet looking even when she was mad. No one could ever be afraid of her. "You are so annoying. I didn't just come here for some random reason. I have a purpose."

"And we can discuss this in bed." He grinned evilly, laughing inside as her anger swelled and blew up in her eyes. "I don't mind talking...as long as it is after the sex."

"You are unbelievable." Allison shouted, her fingers curling around her arms so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She shook her head and lashed out at him with her arms, somehow managing to knock him off balance and he fell backwards onto the couch. He grinned even broader, remembering what happened the last time she got the better of him and he just sat back on the cushions and waited for her to jump him. But she didn't do that, instead she just stayed where she was and stared at him. "Look, I have something to say to you and you're going to be quiet and listen."

"Oh yes I might just enjoy being man handled more often." He said, amusement evident in his voice but in order to not totally piss her off he might as well let her get out what she was so clearly desperate to say. "Alright go ahead. You have my full attention."

"This may be something you will make me regret doing, but I can't just ignore it." She paused, collecting her breath for a full minute in preparation of what she was going to unleash on him. She moved back and forth on the balls of her feet before looking at him with a determined sparkle in her eyes. And when she opened her mouth, she shocked him by what came out. "I like you Damon. I don't just find you fascinating and attractive and...so incredibly sexy. I actually like you. And it's time to stop pretending like that is not true. I like you. There, I said it."

"Are you done?" Was all he could manage to say when she stopped speaking.

"Yes I am. I did what I came here to do. So there." She nodded, her hands on her hips, looking more open and stubborn then he had ever seen her. "Ok then. That's it."

Damon watched her spin around on her heels, her long hair fanning out as she stomped back over to the door and left the house with a bang leaving him alone on the couch with a smirk.

* * *

_20 minutes later_

"Ah, back again so soon." Godric said teasingly when I walked back into the tomb later that night after leaving Damon's house and dropped my bag in the dirt right as I reached the moonlight separating us. His eyes studied me as if trying to figure out for himself why I was looking so different and then his eyes lit up. "You made a choice didn't you? You took a risk."

"Yes I did." I said happily, still amazed that I had managed to walk into that house and confront Damon the way I had. It was so not like me to do something like that. I never put myself out there like that. I was always the shy one and I always just let things happen to me without even trying to change it. I never challenged my fear and instead just let it fester until it consumed me or it went away on its own. But not this time. This time I took charge of my life and I was happy about it. It may not have gotten the reason I wanted but I at least did something that was out of character for me. "You would have been so happy for me. I just went in there and told him to shut up and listen to me. And then I just blurted it all out. I told him point blank that I liked him and that I wasn't going to pretend like that wasn't the case."

"You're right, I am happy for .you." He told me, his own face showing just how excited he was, although there was a hint of something that I just couldn't pin point in his eyes. Still he smiled and said. "I am very pleased that you took the initiative to do something like that, even despite your fear. You're a lot stronger then you realize, little Fae."

"Yes well, eventually I will believe that entirely someday, but for now, I will just nod and say thank you." I told him as I began reaching into my bag for my supplies and sat down to make myself comfortable so I could give Godric some blood. "You know, I think you are doing more for me then I am doing for you."

"That's where you're wrong...you're bringing me back to life...there is nothing i could do to ever repay you for that..."

**A/n: i hope everyone is still reading this story...i feel like not many people are but thats ok because this fic is just about at its end...there are only 3 more chapters until the finale...and then the 3rd fic begins and the shit really hits the fan**


	31. The Resurrection

**Chapter 31 The Resurrection **

"Wow. For once in a very long time, I feel on top of the world." I said to myself with a grin as I climbed the staircase of my apartment building with my bag in my hand and a lightness in my heart that I hadn't expected to feel after the agony of the past few weeks. But it was there and it was not going anywhere. And I couldn't have been more happy.

When I left Godric in the tomb with that bottle of blood, I thought that was going to be the thing that made me smile and feel happy for the rest of the night. And at first it did, because as I saw him drink, his image became just that much more solid with every drop of blood. And that was always going to make me happy. But it was when I left the tomb and was standing out there in the moonlight above ground, that I felt the full brunt of my happiness hit me. I don't know how it happened, but as the wind was rippling my hair across my back, I was just filled with this sense of strength and power. I had stood there for a while just staring at the moon and wondering what had changed so suddenly for me and that's when I came to the answer. It wasn't because of fate or destiny or the universe intervening in my life that had brought me this surge of peace. It was because of me. I had taken it upon myself to allow myself to finally let go of the darkness that had haunted me since I left my home. I had taken a stand for myself and did something that I needed to do. And I didn't even care what the reaction would be. I just needed to get my feelings out and being able to do that was a victory in itself. I felt on top of the world as I turn into the hallway where my apartment was and I was bound and determined that nothing would bring me down. Not even by the vampire leaning against my front door.

"Well look who it is." I called out in an almost sing song kind of voice as my eyes landed on Damon and I strolled forward, throwing the strap of my bag up on my shoulder and stuck my hands in my pocket to pull out my keys. I had my fingers wrapped around the key-chain when I reached him and I made sure to put a smile on my face. And this time, I felt it come from the inside. "What are you doing here Damon?"

"Where were you just coming from?" He asked back, ignoring my question as he crossed his leather jacket covered arms over his black shirt, looking incredible as he did it. But then again, Damon looked hot doing anything.

"I was at the tomb. I had to give Godric more blood. Not that it is any of your business." I told him, smirking at the strength in my voice. I sounded so carefree and upbeat that it was almost fake sounding. But nothing had ever felt more real to me so I didn't care. I looked up at the dark haired vampire and raised my eyebrows. "So now my question. Why are you here?"

"I came to see you, as if that weren't obvious." He replied, using that tone of his that suggested he was going to fight for power here when the moment came. But that wasn't going to happen. The ball was in my court, I held all the cards and the power. And I think he knew that, but he still tried to exert his intimidation tactics on me. "Invite me in."

"Figures you would try and demand your way in." I shook my head and rolled my eyes. On any other occasion it would have bothered me the way he was talking to me, but on this night, I could care less. If anything, I was amused by what was coming out of his mouth. But I was still going to make it known that I was in charge here. "But ok, I will invite you in."

"Great." He nodded smugly, waiting for me to stick my key in the knob and officially say the words. I pushed open the door and flicked on the lights before dropping my bag on the table and turning around to look up at him. He had this expectant look on his face when he opened his mouth to speak. "Well. Invite me in."

"On one condition." I replied, a smile growing wide across my face as I leaned my arm against the door frame, taking great satisfaction in the fact that I could say anything I wanted and he couldn't do anything about it. I loved toying with him. "Just agree to it and then we will be good."

"Alright fine, whatever." He rolled his eyes waving his hand to tell me to go ahead. "What's this condition?"

"Tell me how you feel about me." I stated with no hesitation, watching as his lips parted slowly in surprise and he actually took a step back from me as if my words had stung him. I stood up straight and twirled my long hair with my fingers, knowing that what I was doing wasn't just about toying with him, it was about knowing I had power within me that I could use to help myself. So that was why I said what I said next. "I told you how I feel and now it's your turn. Just tell me how you feel about me and I will let you in."

"Uh...well..." Damon's voice trailed off as he stuck his tongue between his teeth and chomped down on it thoughtfully. I watched him as he appeared to think about it and I wished more then anything that I had the ability to read the mind of a vampire. I couldn't get a straight answer out of him on a good day so reading his thought would have been a plus. But I couldn't do that so I just had to hope that he said what was on his mind. And when he looked at me, I just knew that wasn't going to be the case. He ran his hand through his hair and shook his head stubbornly. "I can't do that."

"Ok, then. No invite. Good night." I said with my own smirk that was combined with me closing the door in his face and flipping the lock. I leaned against it for a second, once again amazed at myself for being able to pull off another personal victory for myself. And then I smiled more naturally and headed towards my phone on the counter. I was feeling so good that I wanted company to share my good mood with and I knew exactly who I wanted to come over.

* * *

_15 minutes later_

"Oh. Well this is certainly a sight to see." Elena said to herself out loud as she turned the corner of the stairwell and came into the hallway where Allison's apartment was only to see Damon himself sitting against the wall next to the girl's door with his arms on his knees and his head hanging low. It was a way she had never seen him and it made a smirk come to her lips as she watched him.

Elena had known Damon would be a topic of conversation when Allison called her a little while ago because he was always doing something to annoy or upset Allie enough that she needed a friend to vent to. And like a good friend Elena had agreed to come over, mostly because Allie wanted her to and also because Elena was eager to share in the good spirits that had taken over her friend's body. So she got in her car and drove over and within minutes was parked and skipping up the stairs like a child, only to come to a stop when she saw the slumped over figure against the wall. She knew Damon had been there when Allie got home, but Elena didn't still think that he would still be there by the time she arrived, but there he was with that glum look that she found just so amusing.

"Hmm, funny meeting you here." Elena said when she had neared him enough that he noticed her presence out of the corner of his eye and stood up with a glare. She pretended not to even care but she was totally fighting the urge to laugh. "What's with the face?"

"She won't let me in." He exclaimed, looking backwards at the door and sending a look of pure fury at it as if it would penetrate the wood and reach Allison before he threw up his arms. "What the fuck?"

"I assume you didn't follow her condition then. All you had to do was confess how you feel about her and that would have been the end of it." Elena pointed out, laughing when Damon's head shot up with a speed that would have given her whiplash. "She told me about that and the fact that you just couldn't do it."

"It was a stupid condition." He answered back gruffly, stuffing his hands in his pockets and kicking at the carpet of the hallway as if it were annoying him. "It had no basis in anything so I don't get why she even had to ask me that."

"If that is true then why are you making a big deal out of it? Why are you getting so agitated if it didn't mean anything?" Elena asked, not fooled for a minute by this act that Damon was putting on. She saw right past it and she wasn't afraid to call him on it. "Come on Damon, if you wont say it to her then at least say it to me. Do you care about her?"

"I don't know why everyone is so obsessed with getting me to talk about my feelings. As if I had any." He spat out, the disgust he had for this topic written all over his face as he tried to play it coy. "Besides, I'm only capable of caring about myself."

"Oh my god, who are you trying to kid?" Elena exclaimed a lot louder then she had intended as she walked forward and hit him in the shoulder. "You are so lying to yourself right now. And it is so obvious to anyone with a brain that you care about Allison."

"That is not true."

"Oh yes it is. Even when you try your hardest to hide it, if anyone looks at you when Allison is in the room, they can see it all over your face. You don't have to say, we all know it without a word of confirmation ever coming from you." Elena rolled her eyes, not understanding how Damon could still stand there outside Allison's door and insist that nothing was serious between them. It was stupid and ridiculous at this point. "We all know you have feelings for her Damon. Stefan knows, I know and I'm pretty sure that Allison has some idea, she just needs to hear you say it."

"There is nothing to say because I don't care about her. I don't." Damon insisted, but the way he said it made Elena question whether he was saying it to convince her or himself. Their eyes met just then and he sneered at her. "Just because my brother is capable of compassion and love and affection and is able to show it doesn't mean that any of that is inside of me. Because I can tell you right now that it's not. I care for myself and myself only."

"That's really sad Damon because one day you are going to realize that you are capable of caring about someone, I just know you are. But by then it will be too late, and someone else will have her." Elena frowned up at him before reaching around and grabbing the door knob that Allie had left unlocked for her. She sent one last look at Damon and sighed, wishing she could help him more but he wasn't willing to put himself out there. And she couldn't change that. "And if that happens then you can't blame any one else for your unhappiness. That's all on you."

And that's how Elena ended things with him when she turned the door handle and entered the apartment and left him standing there blankly.

* * *

_15 minutes later_

"He's finally gone." Elena told me, coming back inside after prowling the hallways just minutes ago to see if Damon was still lurking around somewhere and she looked pleased that he had actually left the building. She shut the door and came over to where I was sitting and dropped down onto the couch and sighed. "I would have thought he would put up more of a fight. You know how stubborn he is , when he wants something he does whatever it takes to get it."

"Yea, and its that very same stubbornness that keeps him from saying how he really feels, that is if he feels anything for me." I grumbled, flicking a long strand of my hair off my arm and propped my elbow up on the back of the couch. "I don't know Elena, but lately I have been thinking whether this was a good idea. You know about getting involved with Damon in any capacity."

"But you like him." She protested, cocking her head to the side in confusion. "That's not something you can just control, no matter how bad of an idea you think it is."

"Ok when you put it like that you are right and the logical side of me knows that. But I thought that as time went on and as he and I got to know each other that maybe eventually he would be different with me. I was so convinced that by him doing all those nice things that it meant he was turning over a new leaf. I thought he would would be able to say it out that he cared, but he can't do that so I am stuck." I replied, pulling the sleeves of my black and gray sweater down over my fingers so I hold hold the fabric in my fist. "And to be honest, I feel really stupid for allowing myself to fall for Damon."

"Allie, I know it bothers you the way Damon behaves, and it bothers me too. But deep down inside of him, I just know he cares about you. As annoying as he is, he cares very deeply and is just uncomfortable with sharing it." Elena pointed out to me as she moved over and wrapped her arm around my shoulders and pressed her dark hair against mine. "But that doesn't mean that falling for him was a mistake. Because I don't think it was."

"But he is exactly the kind of vampire I said I would never get involved with again. I told myself that the minute I decided to leave home. It was vampires like him that were the reason I left Bon Temps. And then I get here and I come across the very prototype I was hoping to get away from. And like a moron, I started letting myself get comfortable around him, thinking that at some point down the road that he would prove that he wasn't like every other vampire and more importantly that he wasn't Eric. But as I am finding out, he is just like Eric, He just hasn't fucked up majorly yet." I spat out quietly, feeling the sting in my heart as Eric's name passed through my lips. I tried to avoid saying his name because of how much it pained me and it still did, but this time the pain was considerably less. "I should have learned my lesson from before about getting involved with vampires like Damon and Eric. But I didn't. And that's why I'm not going to push this thing with Damon. He has to make the choice now. And until he does, then he and I are done."

"Is that what you really want? To be done with Damon?" She asked, pulling back and touching my arm with her hand in a gentle soothing way. "Because I don't think it is. I really think you want it to work and I think he does too."

"But he has to say it first or how else can I believe it?" I asked back, knowing that standing by my decision was the thing to do. "It's one thing to think I know how he feels and it is another thing to hear him say it. I need concrete confirmation or I just don't want to bother with him any more."

"He's a tough one to crack, I won't disagree with you on that front." Elena sighed, flipping her hair behind her before speaking again. "He's egotistical, arrogant, selfish, short tempered, violent, and a whole bunch of other things that would give you a reason not to be with him. But I have seen the way he looks at you and I have seen his rare moments when he talk about you and his face just changes completely. The good part of him is in there somewhere, he just needs you to stick around and forced it out. Don't give up on Damon."

"Since when did you become his biggest supporter?" I found myself smiling despite my efforts not to. "You are the one who is always calling him a dick behind his back."

"That's because he is a dick." She agreed, not at all denying that she did that on a regular basis. "But that doesn't mean he's not capable of putting that aside for someone."

"When the day comes that Damon actually tells me how he feels about me then we will talk."

* * *

_Back at the Salvatore house_

"Oh man, you are such an idiot." Stefan said to him the second Damon had finished relaying all that had happened with Allie to his brother and that was the first thing Stefan had to say. "That was a real dick move if I ever saw one."

"Well excuse me for not being a pussy like you and always wanting to talk about my feelings." Damon shot back with a glare as he continued to walk back and forth across the living room carpet in front of his brother. "I didn't come back here to listen to you point out all my faults. I came here for guidance."

"You're actually asking me for help?" Stefan frowned in real surprise and he sat back on the couch his hands behind his head. "Well that is a first for you. You never ask for help on anything, let alone come to me for the answer."

"And it will never happen again, I can assure you of that." Damon snapped at his younger brother, wanting to rush over and throw that kid out the window but he resisted and just sat down on the leather armchair by the fire and leaned forward. "So enough with the insults and just tell me what I am supposed to."

"I think your solution is simple." Stefan explained, raising his eyebrows smugly. "Just do what she asked. Just tell her how you feel."

"But I don't feel anything." Damon denied and even him saying it sounded like such a load of crap but he wasn't going to say that. But his brother would.

"You know that is a total lie, don't you?" Stefan sat up with his arms on his knees and his head shaking in disbelief. "I don't understand why you keep insisting that you feel nothing when it is obvious to everyone around that you are carrying a major torch for Allison. Why is it so hard for you to admit it?"

"Why is it so easy for you?" Damon demanded, giving voice to the very thing he had been wondering about for years. He had watched his brother over the years and Stefan had never had a problem with saying what he felt or what he thought. It was like their was no barrier between his feelings and his mouth like there was with Damon. And Damon wanted to know the reason for that. Why was it so much easier for his little brother then it was for him? "How do you do it?"

"I don't know, its not like its a skill. Its just a lesson I have learned over time. Or more accurately, its the part of my humanity that I held on to when I transitioned into a vampire. I wanted to hold on to a part of my old self and I fought like hell to find it once I became one of the undead. I didn't want to miss out on any part of life so I didn't block out the one thing that could make it so fulfilling, I didn't block out my emotions." Stefan explained, momentarily getting lost in his head after he spoke. But the glazed over look passed and he was staring at Damon again with a smile. "You could be exactly the same way, you could have all the things life has to offer if you just allowed yourself to feel something. You have to let in your emotions. For your sake and for Allison's sake."

"I just...can't." Damon stammered out loud, shaking his head and getting up to lean against the mantle with a shrug. "I can't just tell her how I feel. I don't know how to do that."

"Well you better figure it out soon before you lose her."

* * *

_2 hours later_

"Where are you off in such a hurry?" A gruff sounding voice asked me as I got out of my car and started walking across the moonlit grass towards the crumbled remains of the building that had been the source of the reason why I had left my apartment so suddenly tonight. And I had no desire to stop and talk to this man who was following quickly behind me.

"Damon, I don't have time for you right now." I told him without even looking over my shoulder, I just kept moving and even I could sense that he was still moving behind me even though his steps were almost virtually silent. I didn't say anything again until I had reached the clearing and felt his hand encircle my arm so he could spin me back around to face him. It was then that I actually met his eyes, the moonlight so bright that I could clearly see his face. "What do you want?"

"I want to know why you are heading towards the tomb so quickly with that look on your face." He replied, his eyes narrowing into slits as if he suspected something was up with the reason I was here. His grip tightened on me for a second before he said. "You already came here once before tonight and I know you gave blood earlier. You better not be trying to give more. That's not safe."

"Even if I was, that wouldn't be your business. It's not like you care or anything." I smirked when my answer hit him and made a dark frown appear across his lips as he looked taken aback which did not happen often. I could say that with certainty and once again I liked when I got this reaction out of him. But I couldn't focus on that right now. I had a more pressing matter to attend to. "But relax, I'm not here to give Godric more blood. I'm here to find something out."

"And what would that be?" He questioned darkly as I pulled my arm out of his hand and stepped backwards.

"I don't know exactly. I was sitting alone in my apartment after Elena left and I got this really weird feeling that I should come here and talk to Godric. Something is wrong, I can feel it in my chest." I explained, thinking back to just 20 minutes ago when that feeling had come over me. It was so sudden and unexpected that I had fallen off my couch to the floor with an outbreak of cold sweat across my forehead as I tried to understand why I felt that way. I hadn't felt this kind of sudden upheaval of feelings since the day I first drove in to Mystic Falls and felt that pull to the town and it wasn't until much latter that I knew it was because of Godric. And remembering that it was him who made me feel that made me sure that this feeling, this tightness in my chest was because of him too. And that was why I had hauled serious ass to the woods and why I was standing outside the tomb right now talking to Damon. "I have to go talk to him. Something just doesn't feel right."

"You are talking crazy and any other night I would think that is amusing but not right now." He told me, grabbing me by both arms and held me in place. "I don't think you should go down into that tomb unless I check it out. If you think something is wrong then there might be danger waiting for you down there. I wont let you put yourself at risk. So I will go down there first."

"And you claim not to care about me." I muttered under my breath, watching as he glared at me before stepping back and heading towards the entrance to the tomb and disappearing into the blackness while I sat on a nearby rock and crossed my arms and stared into the cold night.

I could have just ignored Damon and gone down there with him without taking his statement seriously. But I didn't because even I knew that when you have a weird feeling about something, its not the best idea in the world to go running into a dark underground tomb. I had seen enough horror movies to know the rules and in a world of vampires and shifters and weres, staying above ground and at least in some kind of light and open space was the best way to go. I made the mistake once before about not staying put when I was told to and it ended up getting me kidnapped. I wouldn't make that same mistake again. So I stayed there on that rock and wrapped my arms around myself, annoyed that I hadn't thought to stop and get a coat before I ran out of my house. But I had been so disturbed by this feeling that in my haste I had barely remembered to pull on shoes and lock my front door. I was just so ready to get here and understand why this odd sense of something being wrong was filling up my whole body. I heard a rustle of footsteps fill the air and I turned around to see Damon coming back up out of the tomb with an unreadable expression on his face. I got up to rush toward but he held up his hand to make sure I stayed seated which I did but I didn't know why. And when he opened his mouth, I wasn't expecting him to say what he said.

"He's not there." Damon told me, his hands in his pockets and his face twisted into a mask of confusion as he spoke. "I went down there to check to make sure nothing was hiding in the shadows. And not only did I not see anything evil, I also didn't see Godric. He's not down there."

"What do you mean he's not there? He has to be there." I protested, wondering if this was a joke on Damon's part and if it was then I was going to kill him. "You probably didn't look closely. You did come back out pretty fast."

"I did check thoroughly, I looked around every corner, in every shadow and down every tunnel. Even in the tunnel Godric has been in this whole time. And there was no trace of anything." Damon snapped, obviously feeling short tempered right now as she sneered down at me from his full height. "I'm telling you I searched the whole tomb...He's not here."

"If he's not in there then...then..." I couldn't even finish what I was saying because realization dawned on me just then and I slapped my hands over my mouth but not before I gasped out. "Oh my god."

"What?" Damon's first instinct when I said this was to grab me roughly off the rock and shake me. "What is it?"

"You know what this means right?" I asked, feeling tears already formulating in my eyes but for once I did not care at all. How could I when something wonderful was the cause of it. "Come on, you know what this means."

"Uh..not really."

"It means only one thing. If he isn't there then that means he walked out and if he was able to walk out then..." I felt my jaw hang open as I momentarily just stared at him ion shock. I completely forgot about anything that was going on between us and just reached up and squeezed his arms back just as hard as he was squeezing me before I managed to say in a shaky voice. "He's been resurrected."

* * *

_Shreveport Louisiana_

In the dimly lit room of an occupied office, a vampire who had previously been leaning over his desk doing paperwork suddenly snapped back in shock and gripped the arms of his chair so tightly that the wood splintered and fell to the floor in an uneven pile. He stared wide eyed at the wall across from him as this spark coarsed through him and the door to the room opened and another body entered the tense air. He barely noticed her as he just sat there, almost shaking from this unexpected feeling. A feeling that only came from a blood bond being open suddenly and he couldn't make sense of it.

"Eric? Eric, what's wrong?" Pam asked, breaking through his thoughts and placing her hand on his pale shoulder after seeing his current reaction and she now sounded worried and unlike her usual self. "Eric, what is it?"

"I don't know." He answered back slowly, his eyes unfocused and his nerves almost shattered by what he felt. He turned to look at his progeny with a frown. "I don't know what it is. But something happened."

**A/N: There you have it! the reason this fic was written in the first place...the one chapter this whole series has been leading up to so far...GODRIC IS BACK! AND NOW THERE IS ONLY 2 MORE CHAPTERS UNTIL THE FINALE! the end is almost hereSO PLEASE REVIEW!**


	32. Let the blood flow

**Chapter 32 Let the blood flow**

"Oh god...oh god...oh god...Oh my god." I couldn't even say anything else then what I had been saying for the past 5 minutes and luckily Damon had enough patience to let me do this. But then again, I was in such shock that I probably wouldn't have noticed if he had tried to get my attention. And I think he knew that which was why he stepped away from me and let me freak out in my own way for whatever amount of time I needed. I was grateful for that because I don't know how I would have been able to function if I didn't attempt to get over the surprise in my own way and time. And when I finally was able to breathe normally and focus my eyes on him, I found myself grinning brightly both inside and out. A feat that I had no managed to do since I cam here all those months ago. "Shit, I think I am finally ok now."

"Good, because I was beginning to wonder if I would have to slap you to get your attention." Damon replied in his typical fashion but there was a hint of his own smile on his face that I could see even at night. He walked up to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, a gesture that touched me and made me feel calm despite the tension between us. "Get a hold of yourself woman."

"I'm fine now, I just needed the shock to wear off." I shot back at him, my hands grabbing his arms again until I my fingers began to ache from how tightly my grip was. "Holy shit, Godric is back. I can't fucking believe it actually happened."

"I can't believe you're cursing so much." He pointed out, seemingly amused by my reactions to what had just happened. "It's kind of hot."

"You would say that." I used my hand to push at his shoulder before I stepped back with my arms crossed around myself and just looked at him with a look of disbelief that I knew he could see. "I can't believe you were with me the night Godric came back to life. It's kind of ironic, isn't it?"

"How so?" He wondered, a smirk playing across his lips.

"The very night you tell me you don't care is the very same night you show up at the same place I am going to only to be by my side when the best thing ever happens." I explained, smiling broadly when he shifted back and forth on his feet. I was making him uncomfortable, well that was good. "You have to admit that means something."

"Ok, calm down little girl. Don't start with that again." He hissed, clearly not in the mood to deal with my teasing. "We should be focusing on Godric and where the hell he is and not on us."

"Actually you are right." I nodded, not liking that I was agreeing with him but it was true. Godric had just been resurrected and he was no where to be found. "Where the hell is he? Why did he just run off without waiting for me to show up again?"

"He's probably off roaming around Mystic falls, trying to find you." Damon suggested, taking a step towards me. "Which means we should also be looking for him. It's probably not safe for him to be wandering around alone after being released."

"What are you saying?" I demanded, suddenly feeling defensive. "That Godric is dangerous now that he has his body back?"

"I don't know. But he could be." Damon snapped back as he advanced upon me. "Think about it. You said he has been trapped in that tomb for almost a year now and all he has to feed on was your blood, but that was when he was still just a transparent spirit. Now he is one of us again, and there is no telling what kind of mind frame he is in right now. He hasn't fed properly in a long time and could have a hunger akin to that of a newborn. He may not be able to control himself just yet."

"And that's why we need to haul ass and find him." I finished, finally getting the point Damon was trying to make. "Ok let's go find him."

"You're not looking for a hungry vampire all by yourself. Not unless you have a death wish." Damon growled, grabbing my wrist when I had made a move to sprint back to my car. "No. We are sticking together. At least until we find him and know he isn't a danger to anyone."

"And once again, you still stand by your claim that you don't care?" I grinned when he started tugging me in the direction of my car in a haste that told me he was uneasy again..

"Oh shut up."

* * *

_10 minutes later_

"This has been the most perfect night ever." Elena sighed happily as she tightened her arm that was draped over Stefan's waist and tilted her head back to look at him with a grin. "You cooking me dinner, having the house to our selves, making out on your bed..."

"Making love out in the moonlight." Stefan trailed off, finishing the sentence for her as he leaned down and kissed her lips. "Yea, I would say it has been as close to perfect as it could possibly get."

"And to think I had no idea what awaited me when I left Allison's apartment just a few hours ago." Elena giggled, turning beet red when she remembered getting Stefan's call to come over to the house right away and that upon walking through the door, she had been swept off her feet by him and kissed more passionately then she had been in a long while. There must have been magic in the air tonight because she certainly felt it as she laid there in Stefan's bed dressed in only one of his shirts. She sat up at his side, letting the sheets fall down to her lap as she placed one of her hands on his face and said. "You make every night so incredibly wonderful."

"That is true yes." Stefan nodded, trying to look and sound arrogant but he couldn't quite pull it off and his good nature came back out on his face. "But I actually think it is because of you that the nights have been as good as they have. I mean, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be as in touch with my humanity as I am. So thank you."

"No, thank you for being the vampire that you are." She smiled, leaning in to kiss him but she was stopped by the incessant buzzing of her cell phone on the night table beside the bed and she groaned. She smiled apologetically at Stefan as she grabbed it and saw it was Allison. "I'm sorry, but I should answer this. It could be important."

"Go ahead, it's fine." Stefan urged her before he climbed out of bed and started pulling on clothes while she flipped open the phone and pressed it to her ear.

"Allie? What's wrong?" Elena demanded, having heard the girl's voice get frazzled the moment she said hello. "You sound panicky. Are you ok?"

"Yea, yea, I'm fine..it's just..." Allie paused, seeming to need a second before she spoke again. "Are you with Stefan?"

"Yea, I am." She looked behind her to where her vampire boyfriend was watching and she frowned. "Why? Do you need to talk to him?"

"I just need you both to hear this." Allie replied, her voice coming out in a ramble that was barely coherent. "Put it on speakerphone."

"Ok, it's on. What is this about?"

"It's Godric. He's been resurrected." Allie said bluntly, taking both Elena and Stefan by surprise.

"What?" Elena looked at Stefan who was looking back at her with the same look of disbelief in their eyes. "Allie are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure, you can even ask Damon. He was the one who searched the whole tomb and said Godric wasn't there." Allison grumbled in explanation, sounding frantic before she plunged into a further explanation. "I had this feeling that I needed to go back to the tomb tonight and see him. And when I got there, Damon was there too. And when I told him about the feeling, he insisted that he go down there first in case there was any danger. So he did and he said he went through all the tunnels, including the one Godric was in and he couldn't find him anywhere. And that means only one thing. That he walked out on his own."

"Oh dear god." Stefan whispered, sitting on the bed next to Elena while he rubbed his hand down his face before asking. "Allison, do you know where he is?"

"No, that's why we are calling you. We're searching the woods now, but we're not having any luck and it might be more beneficial if we had more people helping us." Allie responded and Elena could hear the crunch of leaves in the background suggesting that they were indeed near the forest. "Elena, do you think you and Stefan can search in town? If he's not in the woods then he might be around where the most humans would be. And I don't know if that is something to worry about or not. But Damon said it was. He said Godric may be a danger right now."

"He very well may be." Stefan agreed, jumping off the bed and reaching for his shoes out of habit. "Don't worry Allie, we'll go out into town and check it out. We'll find him."

"I hope so." Allie sighed, her voice heavy. "We'll call you if we need to meet up."

"Bye." Elena said, before hitting the end button and dropping the phone onto the bed in the mess of sheets and looked at Stefan. "Holy shit. This could end up being really good or really bad."

"Exactly what I was thinking." Stefan agreed, his fingers combing through is short hair before he dropped his hands down to his hips. "I mean, Damon had a point, Godric could be dangerous. We don't know what his mental state is right after being released from the tomb. And it could almost be like he is back to being a newborn vampire and that in itself isn't safe. That's when we are at our most unpredictable. I don't know if that will be the way Godric is because I have never heard of a vampire being resurrected. But its still not a good idea to have him wandering around."

"Where would he go?" Elena questioned, setting her feet on the floor and reached for her jeans and sweater that had been tossed in a bunch on the seat of a chair. "I mean, why wouldn't he wait for Allie to come back to him since she was the one who made such a sacrifice for him? It's not like there are large spaces of time between when she goes there."

"Maybe he went out to find her before she found him, I don't know." Stefan shrugged, handing her the shoes she had kicked off after entering the room. "But that doesn't matter. All that is important is that we make sure that Godric isn't wandering up main street feeding on random people."

"The last thing this place needs is another vampire running around draining people. Alright let's go find him."

* * *

_1 hour later_

"Where the hell is he?" Allison demanded, strolling ahead of him by 5 feet as she had been for the last 60 minutes as they practically combed the forest floor for any sign of the missing vampire but there was no trace of him and the more that time went on, the more frustrated Allison was growing and the more both their patience was wearing thin. After she had gotten off the phone with Elena and Stefan they had set off into the heart of the forest where Godric was most likely to be if he was there. But as the scoured the surrounding woods, there was nothing to suggest what direction the vampire had gone in. It was almost like he had vanished and there was no trace of him at all anywhere. But Allison was bound and determined to find Godric and Damon had a feeling she would stay out here all night if she had to.

"We're going to find him. It just may take a while but it will happen." Damon found himself assuring her as he caught up to the speed she was walking at and dropped his hand on her shoulder. "You need to relax."

"Don't tell me to relax when we have a possibly crazy vampire on the loose who is my friend." She turned to snap up at him with wide eyes and she actually tried to elbow him in the ribs and only succeeded in bringing pain to herself. "Damn you are hard."

"Yes, I know." He replied with smirk laughing when she whipped around to face him with her mouth hanging open in disgust. He simply shrugged at her expression and said. "You brought that on yourself."

"Maybe so but I wasn't thinking of it in the terms you were when I said it." She shook her head rapidly so much that her long hair all fell to one side exposing her slim neck and the delicate skin there. "You know, as annoying as your comments are, I like you better when you are like this. It's more enjoyable then they way it has been the last few times we have been around each other."

"That's because you won't stop bugging me about the whole feelings thing." He reminded her as he walked by her still form and started up their search again. "Stop trying to force it and you can enjoy my company again."

"Fine, whatever. Consider the matter dropped." Even in the dark he could see her roll her eyes at him before she turned and walked by his side with her hands in her pockets. "Let's just go back and focus on finding Godric."

"That's what we have been doing for the past hour and still there is no sign of him." Damon sighed, wishing he could just call this whole thing off and go home. And he could have done that, but that would leave Allison alone in the woods at night and that was just asking for major trouble. So he was forced to stay put, unless he wanted to hear about her being attacked because he wasn't there. And he obviously didn't want that, so he stayed. "There is only so much of Mystic Falls that he could go through before he just passes through into one of the surrounding towns."

"Oh my god he better not have left town without telling me." Allison suddenly grumbled as the thought appeared to just have hit her and she pulled him to a stop and stood there with her hands on her hips. "If he decided to head back without at least mentioning it to me...well then I will kill him!"

"I don't think you are capable of killing anyone." He countered, looking down at her sweet face and smiling smugly. But that smug soon turned into a frown as a slightly distressing thought came over him and he asked. "Can I ask you something? It has to do with what you just said about Godric skipping town."

"Ok. Go ahead." She waved him on just as the wind picked up and blew her hair across her face. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, now that Godric is resurrected, what does this mean for you?" He asked, wondering what direction she would possibly lean to. She had to have some idea about what was going to happen now that Godric had been brought back. And he was curious. Or more accurately, desperate for an answer. "Like, what are you going to do now?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure." She shrugged, pressing her lips together in a thin firm line as she ran her fingers through the ends of her hair. She sighed heavily before saying. "I never thought it would get to the point where I had to decide."

"You mean you never thought about it?" He asked, watching her face and feeling surprised that they were able to open up like this considering how tense things had been.

"Of course I thought about it, but I figured it would be a long way off." She explained, her features clouding over with an expression he couldn't read. "I knew it would eventually come down to this night, but I never thought it would come so soon. And now that it has, I just don't know what to think."

"Do you think you will go back with him when he leaves?" Damon asked in a rush, almost making the sentence incoherent. It was because he was giving a voice to the tiny flame of fear he had since they learned Allison could resurrect a dead vampire. And it was a thought that he hadn't been able to fully forget for months. "That is if he hasn't left yet?'

"I don't know." She replied, her eyes showing the conflict in her head and once again he wished he had the power to read minds like she could. He would love to know what she was thinking or what she was going to do next. But he didn't have to wait long to know what her next action would be because the second after she stopped talking, she actually reached across the space separating them and covered his hand with hers. She looked up into his eyes and smiled. "I don't want to think about that right now. Until this night ends and we find Godric, then talk about the future just doesn't exist."

"Fine by me." He agreed and then squeezed her hand, forcing a smile out on both their faces.

* * *

_30 minutes later_

"Ok, where are Elena and Stefan?" I demanded, looking around the empty town square where Damon and I had stopped after leaving the woods to meet his brother and Elena only to find that they weren't there. I looked over my shoulder at Damon who was on the bench looking bored and I rolled my eyes at his expression. "They were supposed to meet us here like10 minutes ago."

"Will you just calm down and relax already?" He turned his blue eyes on me in a stare that actually made me want to stop moving. "They will be here. And then we will figure out where to go from here. Just shut up, you're giving me a headache."

"I didn't know vampires could get headaches." I sat down on the bench beside him and grinned evilly. "In that case, I think I will keep on talking."

"You can be such a little bitch when you want to be." Damon pointed out, his elbow propped up on the back of the bench and his chin in his hand. "You look so innocent and sweet on the outside, but on the inside you are just devious and mean."

"Only when I have to be." I made a point of him knowing that. I wasn't usually as outspoken as I had become and I think that was just a reaction to all that had happened to me in the past year. But when the time came and called for it, I could be as vicious and as mean as vampire. At least I thought I could. "I'm actually pretty passive."

"I wouldn't say that exactly. At first, you seemed like that, but then as time went, you broke out of your shell and you became this confident, strong woman who I barely even recognize anymore." Damon's words made me blush as soon as he said them, but they couldn't have been more true. Ever since I first came here, I had slowly started to evolve into a person that bore no relation to the girl who had arrived in Mystic Falls. I was broken when I came here and even though I wasn't 100% healed, I was getting there and mostly due to Damon. His presence had forced me to find an inner strength that hadn't been brought out before. "You are fiercely loyal and would do anything for those that you love. I knew that the first night you went to give blood to Godric. You were determined to release him and you wouldn't stop until that happened. If you really were passive, you wouldn't have gone to such lengths to free him. But you did. And its kind of remarkable."

"That doesn't sound like you." I commented as I looked over him curiously. He was talking to me as if none of the last few nights had ever happened. And while I appreciated the break from tension, it felt a little odd. And what made it weirder was that he was sounding more like his brother then himself. "You don't talk like this. It's not you."

"I have many different sides to me." He replied, letting his eyebrows rise playfully. "Stick around and you'll see..."

"Sorry we're late." Stefan's voice interrupted Damon and I shot my head to the side to see him appear on the grass in front of us and set Elena down on her feet. "We just wanted to do another sweep of the streets in the neighborhood."

"Was there any sign of him?" I asked, getting up to my feet to face him. "Any trace? Footstep? Destruction? Anything?"

"Sorry Allie`, but we didn't find him" Elena answered for the two of them, squeezing my shoulder gently. "And judging by your question, you guys didn't find him either."

"I just don't understand." Stefan said, running his hands over his head. "Why would he just vanish like that? Do you think he left town?"

"We thought about that." Damon spoke up from behind us as he too stood up and came over to where the three of us were standing. "And it could be a possibility..."

"But I'm not sure he really did leave." I cut back in, looking at their faces as I spoke. "I know that thought went through my head but now that I have had time to think about it, I just don't think he left. He's still here."

"Then where is he?" Damon demanded, turning his attention to me. "We searched the woods and the streets and there is nothing. What makes you possibly think that he could still be here?"

"It' just a feeling I …." My voice trailed off suddenly as an odd sort of feeling rushed through my body at that very moment, taking me by surprise so much that my knees grew weak and I almost fell. But Damon grabbed me before I went down and held me up against his chest as I struggled to calm down my breathing which had become erratic. "Oh my god."

"What is it? Are you ok? What the hell just happened..." Elena began to demand but I waved my hands to shut her up.

"I'm...I'm ok. I just got dizzy for a second." I told her, my breath sounding loud to my own ears and I could feel Damon's arm tighten around me at my words. I looked up at their faces and said. "I got this feeling...this feeling of satisfaction...and it wasn't from me."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Stefan asked, looking from Elena to Damon and then to me in confusion. "If you felt something, it had to have come from you.."

"No, you're not getting it. This feeling...it wasn't mine. I was feeling someone else's emotions." I said frantically, looking away from the group and off into the distance as my heartbeat sped up. Something had happened. Something was going on for me to feel this surge of emotion from someone. The answer was so close, right in front of my face. Feeling someone else's emotions was something a vampire did when they formed a blood bond. And I certainly wasn't a vampire. But I did share blood with... "Oh my fucking god. I'm feeling his emotions. I can feel Godric."

"That's not possible." Damon shook his head in protest as he let me go and stepped back. "Only a vampire can form a blood bond and feel another's emotions. It doesn't work the other way around."

"He's right Allie. It's not possible." Stefan agreed with his brother, coming to stand in front of me. "A blood bond from a human to a vampire can't be done."

"I know how it works Stefan and I know how crazy it sounds but I know this is what is happening. How else would you explain it?" I snapped, frustration bubbling up inside of me as they all looked at me like I was nuts. But I knew I wasn't. It was all making sense. "None of you thought it was possibly to resurrect a dead vampire but I did that. So this very well could be possible too and in the same way if I was walking around with his blood inside of me. He would feel me so why wouldn't I be able to feel him? He was brought back to life with my blood in his veins and I can sense it. I can feel my blood inside of him and I can...wait! He just fed."

"What?" All three of them said at once, once again looking at me like I had finally gone off the deep end.

"That satisfaction, it was a hunger satisfaction. He fed on something, but it wasn't a human. I think it was an animal..." I frowned as I let down my mental guards and allowed myself to feel whatever it was that I was supposed to be feeling. And that was when I felt the full brunt of Godric's emotions. He was feeding on blood and I was most certain that it was indeed an animal, which meant one thing. "We have to go back to the forest. Right now. He's there."

"Allison, this is madness...it's insanity...it's,,," Stefan never got to finish what he was saying because I suddenly took off down the street with a speed I never knew I had and rushed towards the darkness of the woods, knowing that somewhere in the trees, Godric was waiting for me.

* * *

_5 minutes later_

"Ok seriously, what is with that face you have on right now?" Stefan asked his brother as they strolled along behind the two girls inside the heart of the forest and he set his eyes on Damon who was stomping along the dirt trail with his hands in his pockets and a glum expression in his eyes.

"I have no idea what you mean." Damon denied just like Stefan knew he would and just shrugged. "I just don't feel like being out here all night looking for a missing vampire."

"And that's all there is to it?" Stefan pushed, knowing exactly what his brother was thinking about. They may not have been all that close or nice to each other, but Damon was his brother and therefore Stefan knew when something was bothering him. He could see it in Damon's eyes for the past few weeks. It was a problem that neither of them had thought they would have to worry about for a while. But now it was upon them.

"Of course that is all there is." Damon hissed, clearly not in the mood for prying questions that night. "What exactly are you getting at?"

"Relax, I am just trying to make an observation." Stefan replied defensively, holding up his hands but keeping his voice quiet so neither Elena or Allison could overhear them. "Because ever since we met up, you have had this distracted look on your face. And I didn't want to mention it before because we were so close to the girls. But now we have a little privacy, so tell me what is going through your head."

"Why are you pushing this?" Damon snapped harshly, his grip on his arms tightening out of annoyance. "Why can't you just leave it alone?"

"Because you're my brother and I know when something is bothering you and I don't want you to suffer." Stefan shot back, not caring if it made Damon uncomfortable to talk about it. He had to talk about it or else it would fester inside of him and make Damon more bitter and nasty then he already was. "Just talk to me. You don't have to talk to Allison or Elena, but at least talk to me."

"This is it. We're at the end." Damon sighed, turning his head away to stare straight ahead at the dark clusters of trees and hissed under his breath as if he were in pain. "It's almost over."

"What's almost over?" Stefan questioned, his sense perking up because he knew the moment had come when Damon was about to open up on the very thing that had been plaguing him for almost a month. "What do you mean?"

"Allison. Allison is what I'm talking about." Damon growled, almost sounding like he hated the sound of the girl's name but Stefan knew it was only because he was in pain. Damon's reaction to things that bothered him weren't always the most appropriate but they were real and raw and it still pained Stefan to see his brother suffer. "Everything is tied up. She did what she came here to do. She brought Godric back to life. And now...now she'll be going home."

"You don't know that. She may not go, she may decide to stay here." Stefan said, trying to assure his brother that he wasn't about to lose the girl he cared about. But even to his own ear that sounded like a lie. Because even Stefan knew that the possibility of Allison deciding to remain here in Mystic Falls was very slim. And for good reason. Her life wasn't really here, her life was back in Bon Temps. That's where her family was, her friends were there. There was really nothing tying her to this town anymore. Damon was right, she had come here to resurrect Godric and she had been successful. So what did that mean now for all of them? Would she stay here? Would she go back with Godric? Stefan didn't know but he what he did know was that Damon had the power to change that. So he looked at his brother and asked. "Would you ask her to stay?"

"I couldn't do that." Damon answered back rather quickly, proof that he had already thought that far ahead and that he had indeed considered asking Allison to remain there with him. "I just couldn't."

"Why not? I think she would actually agree if she knew you cared. So you should just tell her how much you care and I know she would say yes." Stefan had barely finished speaking when he saw Damon shaking his head quickly. A clear sign that he wasn't about to follow through on what Stefan had just said. "You won't ask her to stay? Why the hell not?"

"Because I don't deserve her."

* * *

_15 minutes later_

"Ok, we've been searching almost every inch of this damn forest and there is still no sign of Godric." Damon said out loud to the three of us as we all gathered on the edge of a small grassy field and stood in a circle facing each other with the same defeated expressions we had worm since leaving the town square 30 minutes ago." And I could tell they were doubting my insistence that Godric was here. But it was Damon who turned to me and throw out the first hit. "So what now genius?"

"Don't talk to her like that." Elena protested, immediately jumping to my defense. "It's not her fault that we haven't found him."

"It was her who insisted that we come here to find him, because she was so sure that he would be here from some alleged blood bond she thinks she has with a vampire." Damon hissed back, his eyes narrowing to dark slits as he looked at me but I wasn't fazed by it. "We wasted time retracing our previous steps only to come to the same damn conclusion. We have no clue where this guy is."

"He could have been here and just left. We don't know." Elena shouted back, her arms instantly rising halfway up in the air as her hands curled into fists. "You don't have to be such a dick about it."

"And why not? Just because we could have been doing something more valuable with our time instead of seeking out a vampire who has obviously skipped town." Damon growled, his face taking on a dark expression but not to the point where he looked like he was going to attack her. "So don't insult me because I'm frustrated."

"Jeez, are they always like this?" I asked Stefan quietly as we both stepped back from the two of them and stood in our own little huddle while we watched the two continue to fight. I felt bad that they were still out here with me. I would have told them to just go home, but they would just refuse to leave me out here alone in the night so I didn't bother. "I'm not asking you guys to stay here with me. I would be fine if you just wanted to go home."

"Don't listen to Damon, he's just in one of his moods. Ignore him." Stefan told me, sending a glare at his brother that Damon didn't even notice while continuing to shout at Elena. Stefan sighed heavily before turning back to me. "We don't mind helping you look for Godric. No matter how much Damon complains."

"Yea well, I just think it would..." For the second time in that hour, I found myself overcome with a feeling that was not my own and I had to grab Stefan's arm to steady myself before I was able to recognize the emotion. It was a happy feeling, a joyful feeling. A surge of pure excitement that rattled me down to my very bones and that I knew could only come from one thing. I looked over Stefan's shoulder and my eyes grew wide as I found the source of this sudden excitement. And there he was, standing on the other edge of the field dressed in all white and looking solid for the first time I had ever seen him. He looked like an angel and I let go of Stefan's arm as tears started falling down my face at that very second and I moved forward away from the others. "Godric..."

I could hear Damon and Elena's shouting match cease as they seemed to have caught sight of Godric's appearance but I barely noticed anything else around me as I moved through the dark grass on my own. My eyes were focused on his as he stepped in my direction, going at a more human pace then most vampires would do. I almost was sure I was hallucinating. I mean, I never once thought this moment would end up being like this. I had hardly ever allowed myself to think this far ahead when it came to resurrecting Godric because I feared something would go wrong. But it hadn't gone wrong at all. He was alive and finally out of the tomb. It seemed like a dream or a scene out of a movie where two long lost friends were reuniting after randomly setting their eyes on each other. It wasn't a dream and it wasn't a movie. It was completely real and that became more evident when we got closer to each other. His appearance was exactly the same as it had always been from the times he appeared to me when I was in the church and all the times he had shown up in the tunnel down in the tomb. But it felt like I was meeting him for the first time. Up until now, he had just been a transparent figure, a ghostly image of a spirit looking for a way back into his body. And now he was back to his old self, walking towards me like we had known each other our whole lives. And with the closeness we had forged from all those moments together, and the blood bond we now had, he and I now had a relationship that would bind us together for the rest of our lives. I had bought him back by giving him part of myself and that was going to keep him in my life forever. And there was just something so incredibly moving about that notion that I cried even harder at the moment Godric and I stood just a few feet apart staring at each other. Our eyes met and I was taken aback by the lone red streak that fell from both his eyes.

He didn't say a word and he didn't need to. Because it was what he did next that said it all. He raised his arms up from his side and then opened them up wide to me. And I went to him, tears and all mixing together with his as I entered his embrace and felt his hard arms circle around me and hold me close to his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him for the first time ever and knowing that this was really real. He was real and we were holding each other in this moment that said everything was about to change. I felt it in the way his hand came up to the back of my head and kept me in place as he moved his lips down to my ear and he whispered the one phrase that touched my soul and would forever remain in my heart.

"Thank you."

**A/N: so there you have it...godric and Allie are united for the first time with him being alive..i hoped i did it well enough...the sad thing is that we are only ONE chapter away from the finale...this is really at its end..stick with me..you wont want to miss the next fic**


	33. Cold as you

**A/N: Just taking a moment to say that the lyrics used in this chapter belong to the song "Cold as you" by Taylor Swift...I do not take any credit for this amazing song...**

**Chapter 33 Cold as you**

"Are you ok?" Godric asked softly to the shaking girl he was holding in his arms inside the dimly lit apartment building as he moved her over to the couch and sat her down and was amazed when she still did not let go of him. She had had clung to his arms the second the door shut behind them and they were left alone for the first time since seeing each other out on that field. He didn't know how she had managed to get back in her car and drive them to her home without breaking down, and she certainly looked like she wanted to. It was only when they had passed through the doorway that she allowed her emotions to overtake her and he found himself being embraced by this human who had forever changed his future by her sacrifice. The least he could do was to make sure she was ok.

"Yea...yea, I'm fine..." She nodded after she had sat back away from him and he saw that she was wiping at her eyes again because of the tears that had shown up on her cheeks. She pressed her hands to the side of her face and breathed out heavily through her lips, an action that appeared to be successful in calming her frazzled nerves because a minute she looked up at him and smiled gently. "This is just...a little overwhelming. I wasn't prepared that I would react in such a..."

"Human way?" He offered the answer to her, watching her nod in agreement before he felt the need to continue. "It's only natural after such a monumental event has occurred. I, myself was overcome by this moment which to be honest, I wasn't expecting. But I should have, this is after all my second chance at coming back to life. There's no way I would not have been affected by the events of this night. This night changed everything."

"It really has." Allison said quietly, her hands dropping down to her lap in a cluster as she watched him. "Even now after first seeing you and sitting here with you, I still find it hard to believe that this actually happened. I actually brought a vampire back to life with my blood. It's...just unheard of. And I never imagined that this would happen so soon. I thought it would take longer."

"As did I." Godric found himself frowning as he said this because he had been under the impression that it would take more then just a few months of ingesting Fae blood before he was able to regenerate his body to what it once was. But apparently no more time was needed. He looked up at the girl who had saved him in ways she didn't even understand and said. "But your blood was a lot stronger then I was anticipating and it seemed to have worked its magic. Because here I am."

"What happened tonight?" She asked suddenly, her green eyes lighting up with a need to understand something. "Why weren't you there at the tomb when I showed up? Why did you leave?"

"I should have waited until you came back before I left that tunnel. I realize my mistake in my actions and I apologize if I worried you." He told her, seeing in her face that she had indeed been concerned about his well being, and that would have touched his heart if he had one beating in his chest. It wasn't often when a human showed compassion to vampires in the way that she had, but Allison had proven her worth long ago that she wasn't anywhere near on the same level as most humans. He reached out at that moment and took her hand in between his cold palms so he would have her full attention. "But just as you weren't prepared for your own reaction, I also was not expecting the feeling that came over me the moment I felt my body regenerate completely."

"The hunger." She replied simply, taking him by surprise with her answer. "You felt the need to feed on blood."

"Yes." He nodded, wanting to stop and ask how she knew that was what he had felt but there would be time for that later, right now he just needed to explain what had happened from the moment he had left the tomb. "Upon my realization that I could now walk passed the moonlight without being held back, was when I was hit with this overwhelming urge to feed. And that is the reason I had left the tomb, I had a hunger deep inside of me that I hadn't felt since I was a newborn. And I knew that if I did not go out and find blood, then the next time I saw you I may not have been able to control myself. I may have attacked you because of the scent of your blood and ended up killing you. So I left...and hunted down whatever animal I could to quench that thirst that burned in my throat. Because I couldn't bare the thought of hurting the person who had brought me back just because I had a hunger problem."

"You moved fast and all over the place." She pointed out, her free hand tugging on her long hair as she spoke. "We searched the woods but there was no trace of you. It even crossed my mind that you may have left town already."

"I considered it." He told her honestly, thinking back to the thought that had flashed through his mind when he stepped out of the tomb for the first time ever. "I stood in that moonlight and thought that I should go home. That perhaps I should go back to where I came from and fix everything. But I knew it wouldn't be right to just leave without warning. Especially when you had done so much for me, you deserved an explanation. So I stayed in town, but I had to find blood. That was my first priority."

"Well now that I know that, I feel more relieved." Allison said with a gentle grin as her young face showed the extent of her words. "But that was nothing compared to the relief I felt when I knew you had gone back to the woods to hunt more. At least then I knew where to look for you."

"How did you know that I was hungry?" He asked, his turn for needing an answer had come. "You said you knew about the hunger. How did you know?"

"You're going to say this is crazy and not possible, but um I felt your satisfaction when you fed." She stated with a simple shrug of her shoulders that he found incredibly endearing. But that was overshadowed by his shock over what she had just told him. She must have seen that in his face because she spoke again. "I was standing with Damon, Stefan and Elena when I was hit with this feeling of satisfaction that only came from being full. And I knew it wasn't from me, so I concluded it to be that I was feeling your emotions. That's how I knew you were back in the woods."

"You felt that? You felt my emotions?" Godric found that for the first time in his very long life as a vampire, that he was shocked with the knowledge of something he didn't think was possible. He had never heard of this kind of thing happening. It was just unheard of. As far as he knew, it was only vampires who were able to form a blood bonds and feel the emotions of the humans they had bonded themselves to. And that obviously wasn't the case anymore. She had felt his emotions because she could sense her own blood inside of him. And it all made sense because that was how bonds worked. She had given him many many feedings of her blood over the last few months to resurrect him so a majority of the life force in him was hers. Of course it was how she could feel him, she was a part of him now. They were bonded for life through this event. He looked at her, seeing her watching him with a curious eye and he felt the need to speak again. "This is unheard of. A blood bond like this just doesn't exist."

"It does now." She retorted, this time being the one who rejoined their hands together, warming his cold skin with hers. "And trust me, I am just as surprised as you are."

"This...is remarkable in so many ways..."

* * *

_2 hours later_

"You're looking at me weird again." Godric pointed out to me, breaking me out of the stupor of my thoughts that I had been in for the past 20 minutes only for me to look at him and proceeded to blush accordingly as a direct result of his comment.

"Sorry, its just so strange to see you out of that tomb and to see you solid. Up until this point, you were basically a ghost figure." I told him, running my eyes up and down his body as if to ensure that he really was here and I wasn't having some sort of psychotic episode. But he was here and he was alive and things were about to change forever. Godric was back in his body and this was only going to invite either good things or very very bad things. "This is just so incredibly crazy that I keep wondering when I am going to wake up."

"I've noticed that humans say that a lot when something out of the ordinary happens." Godric told me, gulping down his 4th bottle of true-blood as his hunger was still burning slightly. "And this night is certainly not normal, even in a world with vampires and other supernaturals."

"No one is going to believe this. You know that right?" I asked him as the idea suddenly sprung into my head and I focused my eyes on his young face. He looked so much younger then me but he was 2000 years old, hard to believe when he looked like that. "When people see you who knew you, they are not going to believe that what happened."

"And that's going to be the challenge." Godric sighed, setting down the empty bottle as he turned his body to face me and dropped his hands down tot he tops of his knees. "It's not going to be hard for me to reinsert myself into my old life, but rather it will be hard for the people I left behind to get used to it and understand."

"When you say people, I know you are referring to Eric." I found my chest tightening up at the mention of my ex and it was the first time I had thought of him tonight since all this went down and I was surprised I hadn't thought if him sooner. After all, it was Eric's maker who had returned from the dead because of me, but his name just didn't cross my mind. Perhaps it was because I spent so much time trying not to think of him. But now that I said his name, Eric's face was in my head and I couldn't help but sigh. "I wonder if Eric felt anything from your bond to him when you were resurrected."

"I'm sure he did, but he most likely attributed it to something else. He wouldn't even let it cross his mind that the bond opening up again could mean that I was alive. I know my child too well." Godric responded with a look of deep sadness in his eyes that resonated with the sadness inside of him. And I could feel that and I hated that Godric felt pain. He looked up at me and smiled gently. "He won't allow himself to be vulnerable to our bond again, he will close it off in the hopes that it will go away and he won't have to question it."

"Wow, that sounds exactly like Eric to a t." I commented, amazed that he still knew his progeny that well. But then again, he and Eric had been together for 1000 years. In that amount of time, you would know everything there was to know about someone. "Do you miss him?"

"More then you can understand little Fae." Godric's eyes turned away from sadness and took on a more peaceful relaxed expression that made me sit back in relief. I had barely known Godric for a couple of months but I already cared about his happiness and I never wanted to see that look on his face again.

"What do you plan to do now?" I asked, but I already had an inkling of what he would say and when he opened his mouth, my suspicions were confirmed.

"I think we both know the answer to that. I'm going home to Shreveport. My life is there and I have things that I must fix. I have kept my existence a secret for long enough and it's time that I let it out. Eric deserves to know. " Godric explained, twisting his pale fingers around each other as he spoke and I could feel that he was debating something within himself to ask me. I was about to ask him what it was when he beat me to it. "The real question is, what are your plans now that your mission is complete?"

"Honestly?" I looked at him for the longest time, knowing that the moment had come for me to finally say what I should have allowed myself to think that first night when I saw Godric in the tomb. That with nothing left to tie me here to Mystic Falls, there was no reason for me to remain. Well, there was one reason, but he wasn't making it very easy at the moment. But I wasn't thinking about Damon for once. I was thinking about myself and what my first instinct told me to do and that's when I looked at Godric and said. "I think it might be time for me to go home too."

* * *

_45 minutes later_

**_You have a way of coming easily to me_**

**_And when you take, you take the very best of me_**

**_So I start a fight cause I need to feel something_**

**_And you do what you want_**

**_Cause I'm not what you wanted_**

"Damon Salvatore, we need to talk right now." Allison's voice came through the air before she even finished stomping through the front door of the house and it was a minute later before she appeared in the kitchen where he was getting himself a cup of blood and stood there with her arms wrapped around herself from being out in the cold just as he looked back at her. He hadn't seen her since she left with Godric and no one had heard from her. So it was a very pleasant surprise that she suddenly just burst into his house like this.

"Well, it's good to see you're still alive." Damon said with a smirk as he set the blood in the microwave and hit the power button. "I was debating whether or not Godric was going to end up feeding on you once you guys left the rest of us. But obviously he didn't."

"And he never will because he's not like that. That's why he left the tomb, so he could quench his hunger and avoid hurting me." She shot back, walking around the counter until she was standing behind it with her hands tucked under her arms. "I didn't come here to talk about Godric. I cam here to talk about you and me."

"Alright fine. Let's talk." He said, leaning on the counter with his elbows until their faces were almost touching and he could feel her breathe on his cheek. "What's on your mind?"

"I know we have tried to have this conversation before, but it has never been more important then it is right now." She said, moving backwards away from him so she could speak but as she left the space in front of him, he could sense her heart pounding rapidly. "First off, you want me. Don't you?"

"I thought I made that obvious." He stated with a wicked smile, reaching out to run his hand up her arm and smirked when he could feel her twitch under his touch. "I've been trying to get you to sleep with me for months."

"That's not what I am getting at." She sighed, pushing his hand away in annoyance. "I'm not just referring to sex. I'm talking about something besides just the physical aspect."

"Look, you came here for a reason. So why don't you just cut the vagueness and just say what you want to say?" He suggested, having no more patience then usual for her incessant way of talking in circles. "Just ask me whatever it is that you want to ask."

"How do you feel about me?" She asked quietly, her eyes immediately dropping down to the floor as soon as that repetitive phrase had left her lips. "I know you don't want to talk about it and in the past I haven't pushed you because I thought we would have more time to get through it. But now the time is up and I need to know."

"What do you mean the time is up?" But he knew exactly what she was getting at, he was just hoping by pretending not to know then perhaps the outcome would be different.

"The reason I have stayed in Mystic Falls for as long as I did was because of Godric and the whole trying to bring him back process. But he's alive now and I don't know what is keeping me here." She said, toying with her hair like she always did when she was nervous. "And that's why I need to know how you feel about me. It's kind of important."

"And why is that?" He wanted to know, but once again, he knew where this was going and he was trying to keep it at bay for as long as he could. "Why do you need to know now?"

"Because if there is something serious between us then I won't go home. I'll stay here with you."

**_Oh what a shame_**

**_What a rainy ending given to a perfect day_**

**_Just walk away_**

**_No use defending words that you will never say_**

**_And now that I'm sitting here thinking it through_**

**_I've never been anywhere cold as you_**

This, had been exactly what he was afraid of getting into.

Damon Salvatore prided himself on being able to get involved with a woman without getting attached and being able to just toss them away without it meaning anything. He had done this since he had been made into a vampire and it was what he was use to doing. It was his pattern. He only got involved with the female gender when he needed sex and companionship or just someone willing to let him feed on them. That's all it had ever gotten to and he preferred it like that. He had no desire to ever allow it to move beyond that. He liked having no feelings or emotions. He kept that part of himself locked up because emotions only got in the way. He was a monster and there was no point in holding on to his humanity when he would only cause pain and destruction. He didn't want what his brother had. Stefan was perfectly ok with opening up his soul and baring his feelings all over the place, but that was him and it wasn't Damon. He didn't want to feel, he didn't want to care and he certainly didn't want to feel love. He just wanted to be left alone to be the bad ass vampire that he was supposed to be. But ever since Allison came to Mystic Falls, he had drifted further away from that and he hated it. He hated feeling like he was getting serious about a girl.

But that was exactly what was happening here. She was standing in front of him begging him to tell her how he felt about her and part of him wanted to just blurt it all out, everything and anything he had ever thought about her. From his first initial attraction to her all the way down to the secret flame that had been burning in his chest for the past few weeks. It was all there but it was foreign to him. He wasn't used to it and it made him angry and agitated. He wasn't in control when he was at the mercy of his emotions and he despised that. He loved power and that only came when he was able to turn off his feelings and pretend they didn't exist. Other wise he was opening himself up to being vulnerable and letting in a pain that he hadn't felt since Katherine's betrayal. A pain that would forever haunt him if he let it in and allowed himself to truly feel the extent of how much he cared for Allison. He couldn't do that. He couldn't lose control. He had to be strong and powerful like he used to be. And the only way to find that within himself again was to hurt the girl in front of him. And hurt her badly.

"Get out." He found his voice coming out of his mouth in a dark tone that took both her and him by surprise. But he needed to be harsh. It was the only way to get her out of his life. He pointed to the entry way and said even lower "Get out of here."

"What?" Allison's mouth fell open and her green eyes blinked rapidly as if she were trying to figure out if this was a joke or not. "Why are talking to me like that? What did I do wrong?"

"You are being a stupid little girl,that's what you did wrong!" He snapped, flashing around the side of the counter and grabbed her by the arms before she could even gasp. "You don't get it do you?"

"Get what? What is going on?" She demanded, turning her face up at him as he dragged out of the kitchen and towards the front door. "Damon, please tell me why are acting like this?"

"Because you are making something out of nothing." He hissed, whipping her around to face him head on and he used every bit of his energy to keep the glare in his eyes. "I never wanted you for anything more then just your blood and sex. That's the only reason I ever did anything considerate, because I thought it would get you in my bed so I could sleep with you and feed on you. That's all my niceness was ever about. You were just too stupid to realize that. I don't want you in the way you want me. And if you value your life then you will walk out that door and never look back."

"This isn't you Damon. I know it's not." She shook her head, reaching up to grab his chin in her hand so he stared down at her. "I've seen the good in you and pushing me out the door is not going to make it go away."

"Yes it will, because there was never any good in me to start with. And the sooner you realize that then the better it is for the both of us." He growled, yanking his head away and grabbing the door knob and twisting it quickly before he shoved her out on to the front steps. She barely turned around and regained her balance from slipping on the snowy steps before he spoke to her for the last time, know it was this parting that was going to hurt her for good. "I don't want you here. There's nothing between us and there never will be. Go home and don't come back."

**_Oh what a shame_**

**_What a rainy ending given to a perfect day_**

**_Just walk away_**

**_No use defending words that you will never say_**

**_And now that I'm sitting here thinking it through_**

**_I've never been anywhere cold as you_**

* * *

_15 minutes later_

_He's lying. He only said those words to hurt me because he can't deal with it. But he cares for me. I know he does._

This is what ran through my head as I made my way down the hallway to my apartment, an odd sort of peacefulness hanging over me as I walked. I had left Damon's house thinking that when I got into my car I would explode into tears over his hurtful words, but I didn't. Instead, my logical side took over and I realized that I wasn't about to let myself be sad over Damon. As much as what he said first stung, I knew he was only saying it because he wasn't comfortable with feeling this way. He wasn't used to being open to the idea of feeling anything positive, he had probably spent most of his time as a vampire shying away from anything that would lead him down that path. And that was why I couldn't fault him for saying what he said. I understood it and perhaps that was my own problem. But I did whatever I could to make the situation better. I put myself out there, I stood up to him and didn't let him get away with pushing me around and always being in control. I grew into my strengths and pushed back at him, not willing to be intimidated. I gave him the chance to respond to me when I stepped up and was the first to admit that I cared. But he simply couldn't do the same. And I refused to be sad over this. I had been dealt sadness before and I didn't want to have any more in my life just because he wasn't able to form a response. Damon made his choice and now I would make mine.

So when I put the key into my door and let myself into the apartment, I was already smiling because I knew that for the first time, I believed everything would be ok. And it would be. So when Godric walked into the room and caught my eye I did what felt natural to me. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his midsection and squeezed him tight before saying what I said next.

"It looks like we're going home."

**A/N: and there it is, the last chapter before the second fic finale. So Godric and Allie decide to head home and Damon made his choice and pushed Allie out of his life. Oh well, he just sealed hisown fate. Stay tuned for the finale, it will be worth it. and please review**


	34. Leave the memories alone

**A/N: The song lyrics used in this chapter belong to the song "Leave the memories alone" by Fuel...i in no way take any credit for this song**

**And now, here you have it. The final chapter of this second fic...ENJOY!**

**Chapter 34 Leave the memories alone**

_Two Weeks later_

"I can't believe we're leaving tonight." I found myself saying out loud to Godric as I sat on the floor of my bedroom and filled yet another suitcase with my belongings and clothes while he simply sat on the edge of the bed and watched me in fascination. He had been doing that a lot over the last 14 days and if it had been anyone else I would have asked them to stop doing that and to help me pack. But not Godric, our deepening bond was growing since the night of the resurrection and it seemed like I had not only raise a vampire from the dead, but I had also gained a friend in the process. And Godric was a friend like no other and our relationship was like nothing I had ever experienced before. When you did something like bringing someone back to life, that seals you to them in ways that I couldn't quite grasp but that I knew felt right. And so it only made sense that when we both decided to return home, that we would travel there together. He could have gone ahead of me while I stayed behind and tied up loose ends, but he didn't want to go without me. And I appreciated that. And mostly because I knew deep down that if Godric were to go back home by himself, then it would be much harder for everyone to understand the situation without me there to fully explain my side of the story. So he stuck around in my apartment for the last few weeks while I got everything prepared and ready for when we left. I had to give my notice to my landlord, thankful that I had only signed a lease for a few months. And then I had to quit my job and proceed to rent a trailer to attach to the back of my car so I could store a traveling coffin back there for Godric when it became day time and he couldn't be in the car with me. After all that I was saddled with the extremely harsh task of explaining to Elena and Stefan what the plan was and to say that they didn't take it well was an understatement. There were tears from the both of them, not to mention a slight tantrum thrown by Elena because she was losing a friend. But despite that, they both were coming by in a little bit to say goodbye to us before we hit the road. And that was what lead me to the present position I was in, sitting in my nearly empty apartment finishing up the last remaining parts of packing up my life again while I looked up at Godric's gentle face and said. "I just can't believe this is it. I honestly never thought this moment would come and now that it is here, I don't know what to think."

"I have been observing you for the last few weeks and have noticed that you grow quiet whenever the topic of going home comes up." He told me, getting up from the bed and moving down to the floor by me with his hands on his knees. "It's almost like you are battling something within yourself ever since you said you wanted to go back."

"I guess in a way I feel like I have unfinished business here even though I don't." I replied, pushing away the loose strands of hair that had fallen loose from my braid and sighed. I hated the fact that I was still thinking about this but with the way things ended, it was only natural that I would go back to it from time to time. "I know I said I wasn't going to be sad over the whole Damon thing and I'm not, but I can't help but feel like its going to bother me because I know he was lying when he told me he didn't want me. I just knew he wasn't being himself and that he was only saying those things because he was confused and hurt."

"So why are you not staying?" Godric questioned me with a thoughtful look in his eyes and I could sense through our bond that he was rolling up on a topic that was bound to make one or the both us uncomfortable. "Why aren't you staying here and fighting for him?"

"Because I already did fight for him." I shrugged my shoulders, reaching behind me for my long braid and pulled it in front of me. "I fought for him this whole time even when I knew I shouldn't get involved with another vampire. And when I finally let him in after all the heartbreak I suffered before, he can't even get the courage to say how he feels. It was hard enough for me to do it but I did eventually do it. But he not only refused to say it, he kicked me out of his house and said some of the meanest things I have ever heard. So as much as I want to understand him, I just can't fight it anymore. I put myself out there and was shot down. And now it's time to move on."

"Like you have moved on from Eric?" Godric asked me suddenly, freezing my body in place and my head shot up to meet his quizzical face before he pointed out to me. "You never moved on from Eric, so what makes you think you will move on any quicker from Damon?"

"Maybe because I don't have the history with Damon like I do with Eric." I retorted, nervously untwisting my braid so my hair fell in my face and hid it from Godric. "I only had a few months with Damon, with Eric it was a lot longer then that."

"It doesn't make a difference, when you get involved with someone, it creates history no matter what the length of time is." He said wisely, a smile spreading across his pale lips. "And for someone like you, you care very deeply for others and you try and keep everyone close to your heart even when they are trying their hardest to push away from you. It's not stupid that you let Damon go, you did try your best and he didn't reciprocate. And I don't wish to see you hurt over this young vampire. You are too much of an innocent soul to carry around such anguish."

"I'll keep that in mind. Especially when I come face to face with Eric again. Now that is going to bring back a lot of pain." I mumbled, drawing my knees up close to my chest as I stared at my bare feet. I knew that going home suddenly and showing up with no warning was going to not only be shocker to everyone else but it was also going save me the torment of knowing Eric was waiting for me. I didn't want to give him any time to try and think up any clever tactic to try and win me back. I knew Eric well enough to know he would do exactly that if he knew I was on my way home. And while he was waiting, he would try and concoct some stupid plan to gain my forgiveness but it wasn't going to happen. Maybe in the future I could look at him without being sad, but that day was not coming any time soon.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Godric broke through my thoughts with a gentle voice that forced me to meet his eyes again and I saw that he was looking puzzled. "You just seem very worried about the reaction and the pain that will accompany your return and I just want you to know that we don't have to do this if you're not ready. We can put it off for a little while longer."

"I can't do that. If I give myself any more time then I know I will talk myself out of it and I can't do that. This is not something I can avoid doing, no matter how uncomfortable it is going to be." I explained to him, my words beginning to convince myself even more that this was the right thing to do. It wasn't going to be easy in any aspect, but I had to do it. There no more hiding. It was time to go back. "I need to do this. I have to see him again and deal with what happened. I ran away before because it was too painful for me to be around him. But I'm stronger now and it's time that I go back and face everything. I can't hide anymore."

* * *

_At the Salvatore house_

"..What an idiot.."

"He is such a big A-hole..and he seems proud of it.."

"..why is he so infuriating.."

"If I had the power, I would so smack him and make sure it hurt.."

"God I cannot stand him."

"If you're going to insult me, then say it to my face and not mutter it under breath. I'm a vampire, I can hear everything that comes out of your mouth." Damon hissed at her from across the room where he stood alone by the fireplace while she sat with Stefan and did exactly what Damon was accusing her of, insulting him in whispers even though he heard it just as well as if she had been speaking in a normal voice. Damon for the first time that night, turned to look at them with a dark look in his eyes that hadn't let up in the slightest for the past two weeks. "So go on. Say what you want to say."

"I don't think that is a good idea." Stefan immediately jumped in to the fray, looking between her and his brother with an apprehensive expression in his eyes. "You guys don't need to be starting yet another fight like you have been doing for the last few nights."

"That wasn't fighting. That was aggressive talking." Elena snapped, answering her boyfriend but really she was looking across the room at the vampire who had caused irreparable damage to girl who was on the verge of leaving in a short amount of time. And Elena was pissed over that and she had managed to contain herself for a while but no longer. "But since you brought it up, yea let's talk."

"Oh this will be fun." Damon said sarcastically, visibly rolling his eyes as he moved forward with his hands in his pockets. "And I think I have exactly the right guess as to what the subject matter will be."

"And here it goes." Stefan threw up his hands and sighed deeply before sitting back next to her.

"Why would you say such hurtful things to Allison?" Elena demanded, still shocked that he had said the things that he said to that poor girl. "Why would you hurt her like that?"

"I wasn't hurting her. I was being honest because she just wasn't getting it any other way. I had to be brutally honest for her to get the picture." Damon said, his voice so light and carefree that it was like he was simply talking about the weather or a car and not about the heart and feelings of an actual person. "Being blunt was the only way to get through to her."

"There is a difference between being honest and being cruel, Damon. And you don't seem to know where that line is but you certainly crossed it that night." Elena told him, taking that moment to run her hands through her hair before speaking again. "You really upset her when you pushed her out the door."

"Not my problem anymore." Damon shrugged, seemingly not at all concerned by what he was saying. "I told her I wasn't looking to get serious and then she just expects me to say something that I don't even feel. She wanted me to care in a way that is just not possible..."

"That is horseshit!" Elena screamed, startling both vampires by the volume of her voice and she took that second to jump up and away from Stefan and stomp over to Damon. "I'm so damn tired of listening to this bullshit front you have been putting on for the last few months. No one believes you when you say you don't care so stop trying to get us to believe that you don't. We can all see it Damon. You're not fooling anyone."

"Believe what you want, but that's what I'm sticking by and you can't say any different." Damon shot back, not all affected by what she was saying and that just made Elena furious and she had to pull out the big guns that she promised Allison she would never let slip.

"Did you know that she cries for you at night?" Elena asked, watching as her words seemed to have the desired effects that she wanted by making Damon go still in his constant pacing and look up with a frown. She smirked, knowing Damon had never been able to handle seeing any human cry let alone Allison. "Yea, she's cried for you that first night after you told her you didn't want her around. She doesn't believe your lies any more then I do. And those tears weren't because you were rude and mean to her. They were for the fact that she feels bad that you are such a miserable person that you have to push away the one girl who could have made your life more fulfilling. And she would have changed your life. You know that deep down in whatever resemblance of a heart you have left. All you had to do is ask her to stay. Not even that, she was ready to stay here with you, with all of us, and all you had to say was that you cared, because we all know you do. But you were acting like a stubborn jackass and refused to open yourself up. Well now you fucked up and I want to know why you would do something so horrible and mean and vicious..."

"Because it was easier." He replied quietly, his voice still tinged with a darkness that wouldn't soon go away but he had visibly changed his body language and now he just looked defeated. "It was easier to have her hate me and leave then to admit that was something serious between us and have her leave anyway. I couldn't bear the thought of losing her. So I made her hate me instead. And you know what? It's better this way."

Elena could only stand there dumbfounded as Damon turned his back on her and walked out of the room without once looking over his shoulder. She could hear his footsteps go all the way up the stairs and across the floor until a door slammed shut and there was no more noise to be heard. She looked behind her at Stefan who had been sitting there listening to all this with his handsome face twisted into a frown as he too appeared to feel the same way she did. Elena shook her head and sighed, knowing there was no more time to analyze the problem. The time for that had ended and the time to do something else had arrived. So she held her hand out to Stefan who took it without question and sent a sad smile at him.

"Come on. We have some goodbyes to make."

* * *

_30 minutes later_

"Ok, I changed my mind. I don't want to say goodbye."

Stefan couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend's change of attitude so suddenly as they stood out there on the empty sidewalk by Allison's fully packed car with the trailer attached to it and prepared to say their final goodbyes. But it seemed like Elena wasn't quite ready to let go yet and it didn't surprise him in the least bit. When they had left his house to come over to the apartment to see Allie and Godric off, Elena had been pretty good about keeping her emotions hidden from him on the drive over. She would simply smile and say that everything was going to be alright, but he knew her well enough to know that it would just be a mask until it came down to the wire when they would have to part, and then she would break down. She had been strong the entire time the four of them were packing up the car and loading the trailer and was even cracking jokes here and there. But it was an obvious way to keep the pain at bay until their final moments together and now it had arrived and Stefan was certain that Elena wasn't going to take it well and he would have his hands full when it was just the two of them again.

"Oh my god, do not start crying or else I will fall apart as well." Allison told Elena with a smile but her eyes were already starting to water from the moment she had first spoken and it was then that the two girls moved towards each other while he and Godric stood back to watch. Allison wrapped her arms around Elena and hugged her tightly, showing just how close the girls had become in such a short amount of time. "This is not really good bye. It's not like this will be the last time we see each other. We will cross paths again. I promise you that. I will come back to visit and you guys are always welcome to drop in at my house whenever you want. So we will stay in touch and we wont lose each other. And we won't say goodbye. Because goodbye is so..."

"Final." Elena finished for her, sniffling quietly as she wiped at her eyes with her free hand. "I agree, no saying goodbye. We'll say see you later."

"I like that so much better." Allison agreed, pulling back from Elena with her hand over her mouth most likely to stifle a cry. It took her a second to compose herself as they all stood there in silence with only the sounds of traffic passing by them on the next streets over. Allison then smile and placed her hand on Elena's shoulders and said her final parting words. "Elena, you and I have not known each other all that long and it's almost cruel to pull us apart just as we were really getting close. But the best thing about our friendship is that you understand why I need to go home. You have always understood that I had a past that I needed to sort out and you were always there when I needed to talk to you about it. And even though it was hard, you comforted me that night when I told you I was leaving. And you have stood by me since I made that decision and I am so damn grateful to have a friend like that. I never had an easy time letting people in but you made it so simple for me to allow new friends in my life and you were the first person to befriend me here in Mystic Falls and I will never forget it."

"Neither will I." Elena whispered, smiling sadly as she reached out and hugged the older brunette one more time. "See you later Allison."

"See you later too Elena." Allie bit down on her lip as her eyes flooded over with emotion, tears slipping down her cheeks at a rapid pace as they parted and stepped away from each other before Allie turned to him and motioned him forward. "Stefan, I have something very important to say to you."

"Am I in trouble?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood but the look in her eyes said that nothing was going to water down the melancholy feeling in the air. So he crossed his arms and smiled down at her young face. "I guess this is it."

"Yea, it is, but I do have to say something to you that has been on my mind since I met you." Allison explained, also crossing her arms and letting out a heavy breath that showed this was causing her pain to say and a moment later he could understand why. "When I came here, I didn't want to have anything to do with vampires. It was because of vampires that I left home and never looked back. I wanted to get away from it all because it brought pain into my life in ways that I never thought possible. And I was under the impression that any vampire I met would be just like Eric or your brother. I didn't want to believe that there was goodness out in the vampire community but I was wrong to think that. Because since I met you, you have been nothing but kind and gentle and sweet and the best kind of vampire friend I could ever hope to get. You completely changed my view on how vampires are. And I always thought they couldn't be anything but the savage, monsters that would stop at nothing to get what they wanted but you proved to be so different from the rest. You truly have a heart even though it doesn't beat inside of your chest. No one could ever call you a monster Stefan because you're not like any other vampire. And I want to thank you for being the exception to that opinion."

"I'm truly honored that you thought I was worthy enough to be called your friend. And I hope that we will continue to remain friends for as long as we both live." Stefan found himself getting choked up and he opened his arms so he would have something to do and he moved closer so he could embrace her. Once she had her arms around him, he squeezed her gently and said. "You are a remarkable person Allison and its a real gift that you try and see the good in everyone. Don't lose that. And remember, that if you ever need anything, you know how to reach me. I will always come running."

"Thank you." She whispered, pulling away from him as he felt her shudder and knew she wanted to burst into tears. But she held off and just smiled at both him and Elena before turning to Godric and saying. "Come on. We have to go."

Stefan stood with Elena on that sidewalk as they watched Godric open the door for Allison and allowed her to get into the passenger seat before he flashed around and got behind the wheel. Allison rolled down her window as the car started up and waved her hand at them as the vehicle moved away towards the open part of the street. They waved back as long as they could until the car turned around the corner and passed out of their sight, leaving them alone with only each other.

"Do you think we'll see them again?" Elena asked quietly, her thin lips pressed into a tight line as she tucked her hands inside her coat pockets and watched the now empty street with sad eyes. Stefan sighed, moving forward and when he was at her side, he reached out and wrapped his arm around her thin back and pulled her over to him before kissing her forehead and answering with the most certainty he could ever feel.

"Oh yes. I definitely think we'll see them again."

* * *

_Back at the Salvatore house_

_So leave the memories alone_

_I don't want to see_

_The way it is, as to how it used to be_

_Leave the memories alone, don't change a thing_

_And I'll hold you here in my memory_

"Well, that's it. She's really gone now." Stefan muttered to himself as he pulled his car to a stop in the driveway on the side of his house and shut the engine off before climbing out and standing there in the cold night air with his hands in his pockets. He had just dropped Elena off at her house as she had to be home early tonight, and the entire time he drove, she had leaned against the window and sniffled back tears. When he questioned her about it, she always responded that she was fine and that she would be ok eventually. She was just already missing Allison and the girl probably hadn't even left the outskirts of Mystic Falls yet. But Stefan understood how Elena felt as he too missed his friend. He had taken for granted that she would always be just a few minutes away and now she was off back to her real home and he felt lower then he thought he could. A chilly wind blew across his skin and reflected the coldness he felt at the loss of Allison's presence. He just hoped he and Elena could somehow go our with out her in their lives. At least until they met up again.

Stefan shook his head with a heavy sigh and walked across the snow covered grass towards the front door and let himself in quickly, not wanting to be out in the night any more. This night was just one that he wanted to put away until it passed and he was planning on doing just that. He tossed his keys on the table and walked through the hall and into the living, thinking he might just sit and stare into the fire for a while. But as he entered the room, he saw a figure already occupying one of the seats in front of the dancing flames and Stefan felt his breath catch when he saw his brother just staring into the fireplace with no expression in his eyes. Stefan wasn't fooled, he knew why his brother looked like this. His mask had finally fallen and he was at his most vulnerable state ever and Stefan hated to confirm the reason for Damon's low spirits, but he had to do it. So he dropped down into the other seat across from his brother and clasped his hands together for what he had to say.

"She's gone." He found himself saying, watching out of the corner of his eye to see Damon's physical reaction and was surprised to see the darker haired vamp throw himself back in the chair and grip the arms of it fiercely as if he were filled with fury, but his eyes told a different story. Those normally strong, smug blue eyes were filled with more sorrow then Stefan had ever thought he could see.

"I figured she would be." Damon answered in a deep, almost hoarse voice as if he wasn't used to speaking and the tone was just torture to hear. Damon didn't look at him at all, but he did go on speaking, surprising Stefan with his openness and vulnerability. "I think I miss her Stefan."

"We all do." Stefan nodded in agreement, including himself and Elena in the mix so Damon wouldn't have to feel the sting of awkwardness. He just wasn't used to opening up the way he was now and Stefan wanted to make things as easy as he could for his older brother. But what he had to ask next could either help Damon or just further stir the pot of misery for the both of them. "Do you regret not asking her to stay?"

_So here I am with my thoughts of you_

_And this world I've left for me_

_Stoic faces when I think of you_

_And how I once believed_

_So now you call me, but you know I won't let you through_

_I've myself to deceive_

Damon didn't answer back right away and just set his focus on the flames dancing in front of them. For a few minutes neither of them said anything and just sat there in complete silence until Stefan wondered if that was the end of the conversation. But he got his answer when Damon turned his head and looked at him.

"Do I regret not asking her to stay?" He asked this more to himself then to Stefan and for a while he just tapped his fingers against his chin in thought. And then without warning, his face changed entirely and he cocked his head to the side only for Stefan to see the smirk written across Damon's lips. "That's almost the same thing as asking if I'm in love with her."

"Are you in love with her?" Stefan asked, knowing there was the stronger possibility of vampires walking around in daylight before Damon would ever use the word love. But as he looked at his brother and saw the smirk twist even more, he began to wonder what his brother was thinking. He got a reply when Damon shrugged and said with a smile something that was as close as he would ever get to admitting his feelings.

"Some things are best left unsaid."

* * *

_10 minutes later_

"Are you sure about driving all night?"I asked Godric as I glanced at him from the passenger seat with a curious eye as he gripped the steering wheel and turned the car and trailer off of main street and headed out of Mystic Falls towards the highway. I sat back with my hands in my lap and stared out the window like I had been doing for the past 12 minutes and waited for him to answer. Not much had been said since we left Elena and Stefan on the sidewalk back at the apartment and it was only now as we were actually leaving the town that I felt the need to say something. We had a long journey ahead of us and an even longer return to our normal lives so it made sense that we at least made small talk.

"I may have been trapped in that tomb for over a year, but I do remember how to drive a car." He replied with a sidelong smile as he kept his eyes on the road intently. "It only makes sense that I drive at night while I am able to, so you can sleep before you have to drive during the day."

"I don't think I could sleep even if I really wanted to. I have too much on my mind." I told him, rubbing my temples with the tips of my fingers. I had tried to keep my feelings about going home to myself for as long as I could but now we were actually on our way back to Bon Temps and there was no more buffer of time between our destination that would give me a chance to put it off. There was no more putting it off. This was it. I looked at Godric and sighed. "I just keep thinking about how everyone is going to react when we show up. It's going to be bad isn't it?"

"Yes it is." He told me honestly, his young face not shower to deal withing what he was feeling but our blood bond said it all and he was just as nervous as I was about going back. But as tense as he felt, he didn't hold back in what he said. "It is not going to go smoothly at all. There will be a lot of pain and anger to deal with and when it comes to Eric, that also usually means violence. So I have to mentally prepare myself that I may have to use physical force to make my child understand. And its not in my character to do that when it involves Eric, but this is a very volatile situation. He thinks I'm dead, and when he finds out that I was brought back to life by you, it is not going to be a very pleasant moment. You know Eric. You know what he is capable of. He wont take this lightly."

"Great, more trouble is what I look forward." I sighed, dropping my hands to my my knees and curled my fingers over them. "This is going to be so incredibly bad."

"I wish I could tell you differently but I don't wish to lie to you. It's not going to be easy at all and there is going to be more dark times then light times. And that's just the truth." Godric replied with a shrug of his shoulder, his face now showing his emotions more clearly so I wouldn't have to push at our bond to know what he was feeling. "But despite all the pain and anguish we are going to face when we get back, I know that in time it will all blow over."

"I sure hope so." I muttered, pulling my hair out of its braid and shook my hair loose so it tumbled down my back. "I'm terrified, I've never been good at confrontation."

"Are you sure you're ready to do this? Are you prepared for everything that is to come?" He asked, his attention clearly going to one particularly point and it wasn't until he opened his mouth a minute later that I found out what it was. "And more importantly, are you ready to face Eric again?"

"I'll never be truly ready, but it's time for me to go back. I have to." I explained to him, knowing that no matter how much time I had to prepare, there would never be enough tome to get ready to be in front of Eric again. There was so much history and darkness there that it would take more then just a few months to get over the sting of pain that I felt when I thought of him. But there was also a difference between this time and the time before I came to Mystic Falls. I wasn't the same girl anymore and I could face up to my past if I chose to. And I definitely chose to. I didn't want to run anymore. I was ready to take control. "I'm not going to hide any more. I'm going to take whatever is thrown at me."

"You're strong and I know you can get through this." Godric smiled and one of his hands left the steering wheel and came to rest on top of my hand in his own attempt at comfort. "I promise you that everything will be ok."

"I hope you are right." I said, turning my hand over so our palms met and we squeezed each others hands at the same time. It made me feel so much more powerful to know I had a vampire and a friend like Godric by my side and has long as we stuck together, then we could get passed any obstacle that life would throw at us. Godric was right, there was no way in hell that it would be easy for a long time and there was a good chance that most of the time in those first initial days that we returned, it would be spent fighting. And for good reason. We had to fight to let everyone know that what happened here in Mystic Falls was possible and that a miracle had happened. Eric was getting his maker back and although that was going to bring up old pain, I was strong enough to face it head on. So I looked at Godric and smiled. And then I set my eyes back on the road and spoke one last time.

"Let's go home."

**The End!**

**a/n: And there it is. The end has finally come and Allie and Godric are on their way home. Its about time they headed back and obviously this means there will be a third fic. And that one is entitled "Make you feel my love"...and it is set to be posted by early next week...and that fic is filled with more craziness, drama, shocking twists, unexpected returns, action and adventure, love and sex, a wedding, fighting vampires, witch attacks and an uprising by a certain anti-vampire church. It gets insane, just insane. So i hope all the readers who read this and the first fic will carry on to the next one. It is worth it. thanks again and please review**


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